Teenage world champion Uta Abe has withdrawn from the upcoming Ekaterinburg Grand Slam in Russia due to a left shoulder injury, the All Japan Judo Federation announced Tuesday.

The 18-year-old judoka, who holds the women's 52-kilogram world title, suffered the injury during practice on Feb. 19, and was diagnosed with a bruised left shoulder joint on Monday requiring up to three weeks of treatment.

(Uta Abe wins all of her contests by ippon to secure the u52kg gold medal during the 2018 Paris Grand Slam at the Accorhotels Arena on Feb. 10, 2018 in Bercy, Paris, France.)[Getty/Kyodo]

While the March 15-17 Ekaterinburg Grand Slam doubles as a qualifier for this year's world championships in Tokyo, Abe had already secured a berth following her win at the Osaka Grand Slam in November.

Abe won her maiden world championship title in Baku, Azerbaijan, last September alongside her older brother Hifumi, who prevailed in the men's 66-kg division for the second straight year.