Japan national team wing spiker Megumi Kurihara has undergone surgery for cartilage damage in her troubled left knee and will be out of action for around three months, her Pioneer Red Wings team said Tuesday.
Kurihara, who last fall helped Japan win the bronze medal in Tokyo for its first women's world championship medal in 32 years, had been complaining of discomfort in the knee since early January, according to team officials.
The popular 26-year-old underwent a meniscus operation on the same knee last March.
"I am sorry that I have to leave the team like this during such an important time. It really is a terrible shame," Kurihara said in a team statement.