Olympic and world champion Yuzuru Hanyu will be hospitalized for two weeks and off the ice for one month following surgery for a bladder problem, the Japan Skating Federation announced on Tuesday.
Hanyu, who won his third straight national title on Saturday night in Nagano, pulled out of the Exhibition Gala scheduled for Monday at the All-Japan Championships and returned to Tokyo for an examination on Sunday.
“I have felt some pain since the Grand Prix Final and spoke to my doctor about it,” Hanyu said in a statement. “I was advised to have an examination to determine the extent of the problem.”
The JSF said the operation was on Hanyu’s urachus, which is a fibrous remnant of the allantois, a canal that drains the urinary bladder of the fetus that joins and runs within the umbilical cord.
The statement said that generally the condition is one that affects youngsters, but in some cases impacts adults.
Hanyu’s next scheduled competition is the world championships in Shanghai in late March.
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