Will Ospreay was removed from the New Japan Cup last month due to what New Japan Pro Wrestling described as a shoulder injury. Just a few days ago, Ospreay took to social media to give fans some insight into how his recovery was going.
“Just an update for you all,” he started. “I have more range of motion in my shoulder but still struggling with strength. I think I’ll be ok but I’m just going through my physio with this as I don’t wanna come back too early and this thing rip off. Much love, miss you all.”
The update was promising but did seem to temper expectations about when he could be getting back in the ring. However, all of that changed yesterday when it was announced by 1PW that the leader of United Empire is returning to action at their April 22 All or Nothing event against former AEW and WWE star, Bobby Fish. The winner will receive a shot at the 1PW World Championship.
With Ospreay-return fever starting to break, he returned to Twitter. This time, with a personal video explaining how he is feeling and what fans can expect when he returns to action.
“I got medically cleared two days ago and it’s a weird one,” he began. “I’ve seen my physio now for about five weeks. I’ve got the range of motion back in my arm. The strength is there, somewhat, but because I was able to complete four strength exercises, apparently I’m medically cleared. It does feel a lot better but I do feel like there is a lot of weakness in my arm which, uh, obviously, the sensible answer is to take a little bit more time off.
“Over the last forty-eight hours I’ve been, I dunno, reminiscing over my eleven-year career and it’s been incredible but the one thing that has been a constant, especially over the last few years, is that the injuries stacked up a lot more recently. It’s because I am getting older, it is because I am getting heavier but, because of that, the moveset that I started when I was twenty-two years old kind of vanished and disappeared. Not by choice, but because my body couldn’t do it anymore.
“I can’t perform a shooting star press safely anymore. I’ve decided it’s best to cut it out but, I’m not going to lie to you guys, I feel like my body, me, personally, I feel like I am deteriorating in front of everyone’s eyes. It is kind of upsetting and it is because I chose to do this style. I understand the risks that come with this style but it’s the one that suits me down to a T and I think everyone enjoys it.
“So, having said that I don’t know if this ride’s going to be a long one if everyone understands what I mean. But, then I kind of think, I’m from Essex. I didn’t think I’d reach this far in my career anyway. So, I’m just going to enjoy myself and hope for the best and I’m going to have to change things up a lot. But I am going to compete, I am going to come back and I am going to do the best of my abilities to do this as much as I physically can. I don’t know how long this ride is going to be. I’ll be honest with you guys. I just hope you guys enjoy the ride, that’s all. Much love, guys.”
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