Early on Thursday, it was announced that yokozuna Hakuho had decided to skip the upcoming Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo due to injury.

According to reports from his stable, the most successful man in sumo now or in any era since sumo was organized as a sport, is suffering from a combination of arthritic pain on the right side of his body, a long-suspected left-knee injury, and a right-toe injury picked up in Nagoya in July.

Incredibly, it is only the second time in a career now spanning 93 tournaments that Hakuho will sit out a full 15 days of action.