If not for whatever injury Ronnie has, he could probably hit the same condition as he did in 2003! I don't think Ronnie's injury is serious or even detectable by scans/MRIs, but I think it is enough to make a subtle but noticeable difference in his physique. I do think his back is only SLIGHTLY smaller than it was in previous years.
In bodybuilding, slightly = a lot! A 5'10 bodybuilder would be considered tall, but a 5'9 bodybuilder would probably not be. Being 4% body fat instead of 3% body makes a huge difference. As Tom Platz said in one of the old Road to the Olympia videos, during contest prep, little details become big, big details!