Michael Nakazawa gives an update on Kenny Omega.
In December, Kenny Omega revealed he would be sidelined indefinitely as he was diagnosed with diverticulitis. Omega underwent surgery and has continued treatment and rehab. He appeared on the May 1st episode of AEW Dynamite, where he was attacked by The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) & Kazuchika Okada.
Speaking to Love-Spo, Michael Nakazawa gave an update on Kenny:
Interviewer: First of all, I would like to ask about Kenny Omega's illness and progress, which has been a concern for many fans around the world, not just AEW fans. This took fans by surprise. Later, Kenny himself, who is on his sickbed, announced on social networking sites that he has a serious disease called “diverticulitis,” which has caused much concern. I think that asking Mr. Nakazawa, who has been by Kenny's side both publicly and privately, is probably the closest to the truth in the world, but can you tell us about Kenny's illness and his recent condition?
Michael Nakazawa: To be precise, it is a disease called “diverticulitis of the large intestine,” and it is a nasty disease that can be fatal if it is not treated properly. Kenny became aware of his symptoms just after a match in Canada, where his parents live. He was suffering from severe abdominal pain and was unable to enjoy his trip home at all, and the pain did not subside even after he returned to his home in Orlando, Florida. I accompanied him to the hospital at that time, and it turned out that he was so seriously ill that the doctor told him that he would have been in danger if he had come a few days later.
Fortunately, he was able to find a good doctor who could treat it without opening his abdomen, and just recently he underwent surgery and is currently recovering. However, it seems that the surgery involved removing about 25 cm of the affected colon, and he is now unable to put strength into his abdomen. However, I was impressed when I saw him walking on his own, even though it was a major surgery that would normally make it difficult for him to walk. By the way, Kenny has a cat named Dobby, and since he couldn't bend down to clean his litter box, I went over there and helped him (laughs).
(Laughs) After that, little by little, he has been able to do physical training. He is still not able to lift the same weights as before, so he is trying to find the best training that he can do while incorporating rehabilitative elements such as walking and exercising in the pool, and he is working hard toward recovery. He is trying to find the best training he can do at the moment.
Interviewer: Thank you very much. I don't think you can find such detailed information about Kenny's current condition anywhere. As fans, we don't have this information, and there are irresponsible discussions like, “When is Kenny coming back to the ring?” But I think it is very valuable to be able to tell you here that we are not talking about that kind of level of information in the first place.
Nakazawa: That's right. Since there is no power in the abdomen to begin with, there is a concern about whether or not one can perform in such a state. The impact is physically quite strong, so you never know how it will affect your internal organs. So I can't say anything about when he will be able to return to work.
Fightful will continue to update fans on Kenny's condition when more is known.
We wish him the best in his continued recovery.
