Q: My manuscript previously had the status "Editor assigned," but is now showing "Editor invited." Is it not a reverse process?

The change of status from “Editor Assigned” to “Editor Invited” indicates that the Associate Editor (AE) who was initially assigned the responsibility of your manuscript has declined the request. Possible reasons for this could be that the editor is too busy with other work, is on leave, or has a conflict of interest with your paper. The journal has sent out invitation to another editor and once the new editor accepts the request to handle your paper, the status will change back to “Editor Assigned.” This process might take a while, but don't worry, this is quite normal. If the status of your manuscript does not change in another few weeks, you can send a polite inquiry to the journal asking about the status of your manuscript.

Related reading:

• Why does the status change from "Editor Assigned" to "Editor Invited" and back to "Editor Assigned"?
• Is it usual for the status to remain "Editor invited" for 5 months?