Current Future of Stardom Champion Saya Iida has confirmed that she suffered a knee injury at Stardom’s recent Yokohama Dream Cinderella show.
The STARS stable member spoke at Stardom’s Cinderella Tournament press conference, noting her impending absence and that her tournament replacement would be stablemate Hanan.
Later on social media, Iida revealed her diagnosis as having ruptured both the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) as well as her Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) in her right knee.
改めてまして、
横浜武道館大会で負傷し、
右膝 前十字靭帯 断裂
右膝 外側側副靭帯 断裂 と診断されました。
申し訳ございません。シンデレラトーナメントは欠場致します。
真緑のドレスを着る予定でしたが無念。羽南さんがあっしの代わりに出場します。
どうかシンデレラになってください…!! pic.twitter.com/kq29GzL0Sq— 飯田 沙耶 (@saya_5_19) April 7, 2021
Although no specifics were revealed regarding the projected recovery time, it is expected that Iida will face a significant spell on the sidelines and will likely have to vacate her Future of Stardom Championship.
Whilst there is seldom a good time to get injured, the timing here couldn’t be crueller as Iida was enjoying a noteworthy 2021 and recently notched her third title defence against Oedo Tai’s Ruaka.
Iida’s absence will come as a further blow to Mayu Iwatani’s STARS stable, who had recently lost longtime member Gokigen Death to Oedo Tai (as per their stable vs stable match stipulation at Yokohama Dream Cinderella), and now find their numbers increasingly diminished.
The 16-year-old Hanan is the most likely to fill the void, not only as a participant in the forthcoming Cinderella tournament but also as a STARS’ representative in the Future of Stardom Championship title race.