(NOAH) Appointed Vice President, Marufuji decides on surgery on his right knee

31st January 2020
Tokyo Sports

Naomichi Marufuji (40), who has been appointed Vice President of Pro Wrestling Noah, has decided to undergo surgery in his right knee, for a full restoration. His appointment to being the Vice President was announced when Noah joined CyberAgent, and he has decided to go for a "tune up."
He is scheduled to undergo surgery to remove loose bodies in the knee*, commonly called a "rat* on February 4th, and he will be absent from the Yokohama event from February 7th, until the Shizuoka event on March 22nd.

Aiming to return to Noah at the Nagoya Convention Centre on the 24th he says, "Although it will mean that I will have to miss a few matches immediately after the new system, I am thinking about the timing. With my knee the way it is, it is difficult to fight in Noah at the moment. I decided that it would be better if I could do it with one surgery, and two weeks of absence. It is a positive operation."

The situation has been worsening since last year. It is said that the rat had affected walking and daily life as well as the match, it also affected his knees when sitting down or standing up. Still, he says "I came up with a way to unlock it myself" (the condition in his knee was very stiff).
However, his knee was reaching the limit, and it was time for surgery.

At Korakuen Hall on the 30th, which is the last match before his absence, he participated in a 10 person tag match. Although his team was defeated, he hit a strong right kick to Masa Kitamiya (31), to show his presence. "I would like to clean my mind and my body, to enter the new system".
For Marufuji, who has been entrusted with setting the new system, will first of all get ready for a new voyage with a good physical condition.

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Picture credit: Tokyo Sports

*Loose bodies in the knee joint are small fragments of cartilage or bone that move freely around the knee in joint fluid, or synovium. They can hinder the joint moment by getting caught in flexion and extension movements. ... The fragments can lead to damage to the articular cartilage, causing osteoarthritis

*This comes from the fact that much of what is known about the knee joint, comes from tests on rats.