Pectoral Injury Concerns.
Word has come from blog reader Asashosakari that Kisenosato has withdrawn from the Natsu basho. Followers of tachiai will note that both Andy and myself have been urging Kisenosato to own up to the seriousness of his injury, and go kyujo. No, Great Pumpkin – you can’t gamberize you way out of this one. At some point the human body is unable to follow even the most indomitable spirit.
Official word from the NSK
Kisenosato injured his left pectoral muscle in the final days of the Osaka basho, and somehow believed that resting it would allow the muscle to repair. As we reported prior to Natsu, this injury typically requires surgery to repair, and even then the muscle is forever degraded. The NSK tweet above cites the left bicep, but its been clear since day 3 that his left pectoral is only functioning at a minimal level, and he had no power on his left side.
We applaud Kisenosato for doing what is best for his career and longevity, and hope that sumo fans will understand the chances of much more serious injury or complications were quite real with the upcoming torikumi. His withdrawal hands Tamawashi a default win for day 11, earning him his kachi-koshi.
For those with a sharp eye, you may have noticed that I tagged this post with “El Brazo Onofre”. A very obscure but relevant cultural reference. Now complete with crappy, poorly filmed YouTube clip!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLAFcPZ1bi0
The audio is terrible, this is the transcription that you want:
What does “zopilote” mean?
Vulture. Buzzard.
And who is “El Brazo Onofre”?
That’s Onofre Martinez’s arm.
He lost it in an accident some time ago and nobody ever found it.
People around here think to took a life of its own.
Yeah, something turns up missing in Milagro, people feel El Brazo stole it.
Young girls returning home from their date without their underwear usually blame him!