 He missed most of the July tournament due to a knee injury, then in September he became the first "yokozuna" ever to go "make-koshi", or turn in a losing score of just 7 wins out of 15 bouts.He did the only thing expected of him – he offered to resign – but he was told by the Japan Sumo Association to soldier on.In his comeback tournament in January 1990 he scraped by with 8 wins but suffered a serious ankle injury and missed the next four tournaments, an unprecedented absence for a "yokozuna".