Momota needs 3 more months after orbital fracture surgery

Men’s singles world #1 Kento Momota will need 3 more months to recovery from additional surgery he received today, according to a report from NHK World.

Momota was hospitalized for a few days in Malaysia last month after he was injured in an early-morning traffic accident that killed his driver and injured three others.  He returned to Japan within a week of the accident and only returned to training on February 2nd.  After complaining of double vision during practice, Momota was diagnosed with what the NHK World report said was “an orbital floor fracture in the right eye”.

Momota had expected to be able to return for next month’s All England, where he is the defending champion, but this new setback will force him to take another 3 months to recover.  His club and fans are not worried about him missing the remainder of the qualifying period for the Tokyo Olympics, for which he has ample qualifying points already, but the situation is far from ideal for his preparation for the event, which is now less that 6 months away.

Photo: Yves Lacroix / Badmintonphoto