Much of the focus in the runup to the Natsu Basho has been on a rikishi who will not even compete: yokozuna Takanohana.
The 29-year-old yokozuna has not appeared in a tournament for a year, since the final day of the May 2001 Natsu Basho, when he defeated fellow yokozuna Musashimaru in a playoff for the championship, despite having severely injured his kneecap the previous day. Takanohana has thus been absent for five consecutive basho, an alltime record for a yokozuna.
Initially, it appeared that Takanohana's injury would heal quickly. The yokozuna attempted to get into shape for the July tournament last year, but decided to drop out in the week preceding the start of the tournament. A second diagnosis of the injury revealed more damage than initially believed, and as a result Taka elected to have surgery in Paris the same month.