(NOAH) Pro Wrestling Noah's Yoshiki Inamura's injury story

9th July 2022

Note.Noah.co.jp

I was injured at the Fire Festival just a year ago. It was the first time in my life that I had a big fracture. 

During the match in Niigata, an indescribable sound echoed in my head like a "snap" or a "crack", I felt that something had gone wrong...🦴. However, I was able to get through the match and won, so I didn't think it was too important. However, after going home by bus, when I woke up the next day it was so painful that I couldn't even walk. I was meant to be in Osaka two days later against Masato Tanaka, and if I won then I would advance to the finals of the Fire Festival. The thoughts "I can wrestle a match even if I force myself" and "would it be possible to fight Masato Tanaka in such a situation..." where spinning around my head. When I consulted with Dr Nagahama, he said "Please go to the hospital without delay and get an X-Ray." However, it was a Saturday, so I decided I would do the match, and pretend I had been to the hospital and that I wasn't seriously injured. But! Dr Nagahama knows me too well, and looked for a nearby hospital that is available on a Saturday, and sent me to it.

I had no choice but to go to the hospital. 

I had a medical examination and an X-Ray was taken. While I was waiting for the result, I was still thinking "It's okay. It's nothing. I can go to Osaka". My name was called and the moment I entered the consultation room, there was an x-ray of my bone that was so clearly fractured, that I had no choice but to give up. It was a clean fracture. 

I reported the fracture on the spot to Dr Nagahama, and Noah, and I had to drop out of Fire Festival halfway through. Maybe because I had to drop out, maybe because there was nothing further I could do, but for some reason I went to the dojo on my way home from the hospital and trained. I could never have fought Masato Tanaka in that situation, and even if I did, I think I would have had only regrets. I am very grateful to Dr Nagahama for sending me to the hospital for investigations.

It has been a year since then, and I am back at the Fire Festival. My first match against Masato Tanaka was a thirty minute draw. I don't know what track record* I will have when this is up, but I want to win a complete victory. If I have the opportunity, I want to write about hospitalization, discharge and absence. 

Thank you, Yoshiki Inamura.

Translated from Note.Noah.Co.Jp

Picture credit: Note.Noah.Co.Jp

Notes

* Inamura uses sumo lingo here in mentioning the chart that is used to keep track of the progress of a sumo through a tournament. There is no equivalent in English.