In a video posted by New Japan Pro Wrestling on their official YouTube channel, El Desperado announced earlier today that he will be taking a leave of absence from the company due to him being scheduled to undergo meniscus surgery.
El Desperado stated that he had been working through a medial meniscus injury in his knee for the past six months.
This announcement was made following his match against Chris Brookes at DDT Pro Wrestling’s Peter Pan 2024 event on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan.
El Desperado announces meniscus surgery, leave of absence
Desperado to take time away from the ring
El Desperado today announced on YouTube (English subtitles) that he was taking a leave of absence from the ring to have surgery to repair a media meniscus injury that has affected him for the last six months.
‘Everything from my back to my nipples has holes in after I wrestled Chris Brookes yesterday, but this is nothing to do with that,’ joked the Best of the Super Jr. winner before explaining that when the ‘adrenaline switch’ should be on during his matches, working around the injury was preventing that and that he wanted to be at his strongest ‘giving absolutely all I can’. Desperado cited winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on night one of the New Japan Soul series only to lose it right at the end of the tour to DOUKI as a message that surgery was the right call.
Desperado stated that with the G1 Climax seeing heavyweights take center stage, everything aligned for him to take time off after wrestling Chris Brookes. Desperado stated that he still gave it all he had in the first half of the year and was satisfied with his performance, but with a view to continuing to operate at ‘over 100%’ the time had come to take surgery and take an indefinite leave before returning ‘to take the title back, win next year’s Best of the Super Jr. and do more things to inspire’.
El Desperado most recently wrestled for NJPW at their New Japan Soul 2024 event on July 5th in Tokyo.
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