It has been announced by NHK News that Yokozuna Kisenosato has pulled out of the Kyushu Basho. Citing issues with his left ankle and back, this is the third time he will not finish a tournament this year. Kisenosato also missed the entirety of the Aki basho due to similar problems with his ankle, in addition to his persistent pectoral tear. Kisenosato going kyujo has been forecast for a few days now, as he has been getting closer and closer to a make-koshi. It has been stated several times on this already that Kisenosato returned to action one basho too soon, and we at Tachiai hope that he takes the time he needs to come back healthy and ready to compete at a Yokozuna level. It is yet to be seen how this development will affect scheduling on the final days of the Kyushu basho.
I wish him well but fer cryin’ out loud, just do the right thing and get to the hospital and get it all fixed correctly. If he would have done it 3 months ago he’d have been fine by now.
Well, at this point I think this is impossible.
Note that the certificate he handed to the NSK was for a pelvic damage and damage to ankle ligament.
The torn area in his muscle is probably all scar tissue by now, and some healthy tissue must have atrophied. I am no medical expert, but I would think it’s much more complicated to correct than right after the damage is done.
And at this point, in any case, he cannot afford a long kyujo. The NSK/YDC patience level is usually a year or so. He has already had 4 kyujo. It was a bad decision then, and now it seems impossible to reverse it.
Given that Kisenosato wasn’t exactly scaring anyone in his current state, the biggest effect will be on the scheduling for the upper ranks. For instance, Hakuho would have been slated to fight Yoshikaze, Mitakeumi, Takayasu, Goeido, and Kisenosato in the final five days. Now everything probably shifts to one day later, and he needs a new day 11 opponent, whose identity we’ll find out shortly. At a guess, I’d say Arawashi, though Takarafuji is also a possibility, depending on whether they go by record or rank.
He’s still scheduled vs. Yoshikaze for tomorrow. Arawashi is scheduled for Tamawashi (The Eagles are coming!) The patch-in may come later.
Saw that last night; I guess the schedulers were too far along when the Kisenosato withdrawal was announced to switch it up for the next day. The patch will have to be made at some point; I’m guessing sooner rather than later to keep the higher profile matches for the end, but who knows…
Congrats to Chiyonokuni on a much needed win.
Too bad you can’t get a kinboshi for a fusen.