Asashoryu announced via Twitter today that he had undergone surgery and it had been a success. He also thanked Japanese healthcare service that he received. “Surgery? What surgery?”

Rewind a few weeks to right about the time the sumo world lost Akebono, there was a tweet posted to Asashoryu’s account saying that he had been admitted to the hospital and was undergoing tests and thanked his fans for their support. His account then went rather silent. On Instagram over subsequent days, he posted pictures with captions that mentioned a tumor/cancer but were also apparently rather optimistic. Today, he posted pictures from the hospital, of an IV in his arm and himself in a wheelchair with a thumbs up.

I am really waiting to hear what the press finds out about details (unless Asashoryu is a reader and is up for answering a few questions?). However, from what I can piece together, the surgical team at his hospital in Japan found a tumor, removed it, and this announcement today is hopefully an indication that “they got it all,” so to speak. There are no details so far on the type of tumor/cancer, or any prognosis but I will update if/when I have that information.

We certainly wish Asashoryu well and hope he makes a full recovery.