 However, he suffered a big setback in May 2007, losing eleven bouts in a row before pulling out of the tournament citing a fracture to his right knee.He could manage only six wins on his return in July and slid to the lowest rung on the top division ladder for the September tournament.He produced a comfortable 9-6 score there to maintain his top division status, but remained near the bottom of "makuuchi" for the next two years.