*This content was translated by AI.
There was no turnaround. Hoshoryu (27), the highest-ranking yokozuna in Japanese sumo who has been suffering from aftereffects of knee surgery, has confirmed he will be absent for the entire autumn tournament (Aki Basho) starting from the first day.
Japanese media outlet 'Nikkan Sports' reported on the 13th that "the Japan Sumo Association officially released Hoshoryu's medical diagnosis confirming his absence from the first day of the sumo autumn tournament."
According to the diagnosis, Hoshoryu's injury is a tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. It has been determined that he will require approximately three weeks of rehabilitation treatment.
Hoshoryu injured his right knee during the July Nagoya tournament and was forced to withdraw midway from the 14th day after recording six losses. After returning to Tokyo, he underwent ligament reconstruction surgery on July 29 and received inpatient treatment for a week. Although he participated in the joint training session of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council on the 4th wearing a knee brace, his recovery has been so slow that he was unable to engage in any actual sparring matches.
With this absence, Hoshoryu has now recorded three consecutive tournament absences and his tenth career absence overall. This marks his fifth absence out of ten tournaments as yokozuna, accounting for half of his reign. Notably, it is the first time since he stepped onto the professional sumo ring in 2018 that he has been completely absent from a tournament starting on the first day, eight years after his professional debut.
According to local reports, Hoshoryu's downfall was critically caused by his slender physique and a vicious cycle of injuries. Compared to fellow yokozuna Onosato, who boasts a towering frame of 192cm and 188kg, Hoshoryu stands only at 188cm with a weight of just around 148kg. Unable to match the giants in the top division despite weighing significantly less than the average weight (157.8kg), he has suffered continuous injuries to his elbows, knees, and hamstrings.
Hoshoryu failed to hold a championship trophy even once during nine tournaments following his promotion to yokozuna. This is the second-longest disgraceful record in history, surpassed only by Wakanohana, who retired early at age 29 after going winless for eleven consecutive tournaments since the Heisei era (1989).
Local media are even expressing concern that Hoshoryu may be following in the footsteps of Kitao, who was once expelled from the same Tatsunami stable without ever winning a single championship. Even his master, Tatsunami Oyakata, issued an ultimatum: "When you compete next time, you must win unconditionally for everyone to accept it." With Hoshoryu collapsing on the first day of major tournaments, he has been pushed into the biggest retirement crisis of his career.
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*This content was translated by AI.
