Tetsuya Naito To Undergo Surgery Ahead Of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18

With a little under two months to go until Wrestle Kingdom 18, New Japan Pro Wrestling Star Tetsuya Naito has revealed that he is set to undergo surgery.

The LIJ leader is set to main event the show, taking on IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA for the belt. Ahead of this marquee match, Naito is set to undergo surgery on his eye, revealing the following to Tokyo Sports:

"It's muscle paralysis, so even if you have surgery, it won't get completely better. Even if you have this surgery, if you continue to wrestle, you'll probably return to the same condition eventually," Naito said.

Naito has undergone two surgeries to improve the upper oblique muscle paralysis in his right eye, with his doctor advising a maximum of three surgeries to try and correct the condition:

"Actually, I wanted to save my last one for when I retire. But... even after I retire, it's important, but more than that, I want to cherish the present, which will never come back, so I decided to do it," Naito said.

Tetsuya Naito won the G1 Climax 33 Tournament to set up the title bout with SANADA, with the two set to lock horns on January 4.

Translation via Google.