I certainly hope that Lee will get better... he's a very likeable character that deserves some kind of genuine reward for his hard work.

However, I agree that simply having him come back and say "I got better!" will not justify his ability to fight at the same level as the others. He needs to have some sort of special mitigating circumstance...

My only guesses (I've read up to 140 in the manga, so don't get pissed if this is stupid):

1) He heals (Bruce Lee style) and leaves to train and re-assess what he wants out of life. Comes back much later with a greater strength and perhaps a few new abilities.

2) During his healing, perhaps he manages to use his spare time to work on chakra control (if such a thing is possible for him), and possibly learn some basic jutsus. Even with a few basic moves like bunshin no jutsu and the replacement technique, Lee's fighting abilities would go through the roof, although it might ruin his rather "unique" style.

3) As was stated earlier, it's possible that he could gain abilities in another form. Perhaps (I'm guessing on stuff here so don't get mad if this is actually what happens in the manga, like I said I've only read up to 140) at some point the main characters catch/kill Itachi and somehow they decide to give Lee the sharingans... Or something along those lines... who knows, but it would certainly be a surprise.

I guess in the long run we'll just have to wait and see. I don't care if they kill Lee off, so long as he gets an appropriate send off- he's one of the best and most original characters this series has to offer, and he deserves more than just a simple "well, he'll never fight again. see ya!"

Then again, I like the idea of him fathering some sort of super genius ninja. Let him live through the lives of his kids...

Ok, ok... I guess that's enough. I'm off.