According to the site NJPW1972.com, renowned wrestler El Desperado has publicly stated that he will be temporarily stepping away from NJPW due to a persisting injury.
For the last six months, El Desperado has been battling with a medial meniscus ailment, for which he will soon be undergoing surgery
Here is El Desperado’s announcement:
El Desperado unveiled via a YouTube announcement today (with subtitles to come later) about his upcoming time-off from the vibrant world of professional wrestling in order to undergo surgical treatment to tackle a lingering medial meniscus injury.
The Best of the Super Jr. winner humorously remarked, “Everything from my back to my nipples has holes in after I wrestled Chris Brookes yesterday, but this is nothing to do with that.” He continued, elucidating that the recurring injury was obstructing the usual adrenaline rush he experiences during his matches and expressed his aspiration of coming back stronger than ever.
Relating his recent win of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship during the first night of the New Japan Soul series, and then losing it to DOUKI at the tail end of the tournament, Desperado felt it confirmed that undergoing surgery was the right decision.
The G1 Climax is set to spotlight the heavyweights, and Desperado sees this as an ideal opportunity to take some time off, especially after his strenuous match against Chris Brookes. Though he reassured in his announcement that he had given his 100% in the first half of the year and was content with his performance, he planned to take a break to heal, in a bid to continue delivering ‘over 100%’. He hopes to return not only to reclaim his title but also to win next year’s Best of the Super Jr. and achieve more accolades to inspire the fans.