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Musashimaru to skip
summer tournament

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TOKYO >> Stablemaster Musashigawa confirmed that yokozuna (grand champion) Musashimaru, or Fiamalu Penitani from Hawaii, will miss the upcoming Summer Grand Sumo Tournament after failing to fully recover from a nagging wrist injury.

"I spoke with Musashimaru yesterday and we decided that it is better to sit out (the summer meet)," Musashigawa told reporters. "He hasn't recovered as quickly as we hoped he would and is in no condition to practice. We didn't think it would take so long to heal but it's a bad injury."

Musashimaru's no-show at the May 11-25 meet at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan will be his fourth straight having failed to recover from surgery on his left wrist.

"Before the operation, the doctor told me that I'd be OK by May at the earliest but the Nagoya meet (in July) would probably be more realistic," said Musashimaru.

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