Kunihiro Shimizu Suffers Season Ending Injury In Japan (VIDEO)

  0 Liam Smith | February 22nd, 2018 | Asian Volleyball, International Volleyball, Japanese League, News, Pro Indoor

Panasonic Panthers has announced in its official website that Kunihiro Shimizu, its starting opposite hitter, has gone down with a season ending right knee ACL injury in its Round 4 match of the Japanese League against JT Thunder. Shimizu, who is also the captain of the Japanese national team, is the the competition’s 2nd best attacker, hitting at a 56.6% clip.

Shimizu has spent all his professional career, with the Panthers, starting in 2009 and having won Japan’s Premier League with the team 4 times. With the Japanese national team, he has won gold at the 2009 and 2015 (MVP) Asian Championships, as well as the 2010 Asian Games. He also led Japan to a bronze medal finish at the 2009 Grand Champions Cup, being the competition’s highest scorer.

Shimizu’s 12 months of recovery time means that he will miss the 2018 FIVB Men’s World Championship, an enourmous blow for the Japanese National Team.

He shared his feelings and frustrations with his fans on twitter:

02/18 – Fans, I am really sorry about today. But the fight will continue from now on! I will continue to cheer for myself. I can not believe everything that is happening now, but I have to tweet, even if I forcibly try to smile, saying that such a day is a reality. Today is the first day

02/19 – I will undergo surgery tomorrow. No regrets. I can come back again. The thoughts and words of everyone have arrived firmly. Thank you very much.

02/20 – The situation has changed dramatically from the day before yesterday. Honestly I do not know what it is. Anyways, I will tweet even if I do not forcibly try to avoid frustration, difficulty, and various obstacles . Today is the third day.

Here is the video of the injury. Viewer’s discretion is advised.

https://youtu.be/kgvUu2xCQUc

 

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