Injury Update On Shinsuke Nakamura – When Will He Return To The Ring?

It’s been a rough week for Shinsuke Nakamura.

At a WWE live event on Monday night, “The King of Strong Style” got bit by a police dog, which resulted in him being pulled from challenging Jeff Hardy for the United States Championship the following night on SmackDown LIVE.

With Nakamura not medically cleared to compete, he was pulled from his scheduled match against WWE Champion AJ Styles on Friday in Tokyo, Japan at Ryōgoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena.

While Nakamura didn’t wrestle on the show, he did address the fans in attendance as he stood in the middle of the ring on a crutch. This led to Samoa Joe confronting Nakamura, who wanted to challenge Styles for the WWE Championship in his place. After the two argued, Nakamura struck Joe in the groin. Joe then locked Nakamura in the Coquina Clutch until Styles ran out to make the save and set up the main event for later in the show (which Styles won).

少しだけ#中邑真輔#WWEJapan #WWETokyo #SDLIVE pic.twitter.com/HJQiK9lenD

— mayu (@nasebanarusa) June 29, 2018

少しだけ#中邑真輔#WWEJapan #WWETokyo #SDLIVE pic.twitter.com/Xn5xoSuYS9

— mayu (@nasebanarusa) June 29, 2018

少しだけ#中邑真輔#WWEJapan #WWETokyo #SDLIVE pic.twitter.com/ScjOBxTD4R

— mayu (@nasebanarusa) June 29, 2018

少しだけ#中邑真輔#WWEJapan #WWETokyo #SDLIVE pic.twitter.com/hIvDbcNZSn

— mayu (@nasebanarusa) June 29, 2018

少しだけ#中邑真輔#WWEJapan #WWETokyo #SDLIVE pic.twitter.com/Gm5OtzpYjs

— mayu (@nasebanarusa) June 29, 2018

マジでショックだった…
けど松葉杖でも歩いてきてくれた
中邑選手(ToT)(ToT)(ToT)
また来年以降 WWE王座での凱旋を期待してます❗️
そしてサモアジョー選手のヒールぶり
金的外されたぁ～～の表情がさすが#WWETokyo#WWE日本公演 pic.twitter.com/YaJ18wL83j

— hunterjiro 7.14＆15大田区 (@hunterjiro1) June 29, 2018

取り敢えず以上です#中邑真輔#WWEJapan #WWETokyo #SDLIVE pic.twitter.com/WkGVtW1zUH

— mayu (@nasebanarusa) June 29, 2018

On Saturday, WWE held its second of two house shows at Ryōgoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena this week and Nakamura was pulled from wrestling in a Fatal 4-Way Match against Styles, Joe, and Daniel Bryan. As a result, Styles, Joe, and Bryan faced off in a Triple Threat Match.

Nakamura again had a crutch and interfered at the finish when Joe had the Coquina Clutch locked on Styles. Nakamura hit Joe with his crutch, Joe blocked it, and Nakamura gave him a low blow. Styles then hit Joe with the Phenomenal Forearm to retain the WWE Championship.

2018 6.30 WWE 両国国技館
中邑真輔 SHINSUKE NAKAMURA
真様来た！が、松葉杖落とされた！
からのローブロー！！！#wwe_jp #wwetokyo #wwejapan #wwe日本公演 #wwe pic.twitter.com/CsEUG511GX

— NAPP0Nxxx (@NAPP0Nx_x_x) June 30, 2018

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson came out after the match and, along with Styles, teased a “Too Sweet” hand gesture with Nakamura. But Nakamura said that the next time WWE comes to Tokyo, he’ll either hold or win the WWE Championship.

前回の大阪に続いて恒例のイヤァオね #WWETokyo #中邑真輔 #BULLET_CLUB #AJStyles #Shinsuke_Nakamura #Karl_Anderson #Luke_Gallows pic.twitter.com/j0OjVczAML

— す∴(su)Sweet Ver. (@Moonbow_Spakle) June 30, 2018

Too Sweetだった #WWETokyo pic.twitter.com/7cihv5IK9C

— だいそん (@taiyo2goaz) June 30, 2018

2018 6.30 WWE 両国国技館
中邑真輔 SHINSUKE NAKAMURA
AJスタイルズ AJ Styles
4月にアメリカまで見に行った2人が6月には向こうから来てくれて日本で向き合ってるとかなんか不思議ですね。
ずっと応援してます！！！#wwe_jp #wwetokyo #wwejapan #wwe日本公演 #wwe pic.twitter.com/PyTcjBwKGv

— NAPP0Nxxx (@NAPP0Nx_x_x) June 30, 2018

Fortunately for Nakamura, he will be back in action relatively soon. The SmackDown LIVE Superstar addressed his injury status earlier today during an interview with Nikkan Sports and said that he expects to make a complete recovery in two weeks.