Injury-plagued lone yokozuna Terunofuji will compete in the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament starting Sunday, his stablemaster reconfirmed Wednesday.
Terunofuji withdrew during last September's Autumn meet before undergoing surgeries to both his knees the following month and has not competed in the last three tournaments.
Stablemaster Isegahama, who on Monday revealed Terunofuji is set to return to competition, gave his backing to the seven-time champion, although he did not wrestle during Wednesday's training session.
"As he is taking part, he has to aim for the championship," said the stablemaster, the former yokozuna Asahifuji. "He can ride the tide if he wins the first day and the second without complications."
Terunofuji is continuing to receive checkups and treatment after his surgeries but the stablemaster was confident in his preparation for the 15-day tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
"He's breaking a proper sweat and training," Isegahama said. "He's training as hard as he can given the circumstances. It can't be helped that he has to go to the hospital in between (training sessions)."
