Smackdown wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura is currently injured due to a bite from a police dog, causing him to miss his U.S. title match with Jeff Hardy.
Reported from the Wrestling Observer, Smackdown wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura, who was originally scheduled to face Jeff Hardy for the United States championship on the June 26 episode of Smackdown, was unable to participate due to a dog-bit injury he sustained at last Monday’s live event tour for WWE.
A police dog was brought back stage for a security check before Monday’s show and apparently bit Nakamura on his left-lower leg. The Wrestling Observer also stated in the same report that the Bakerfield police gave a statement concerning the incident that happen on Monday.
"“During the sweep, the EOD Team, which consisted of an explosive detection trained canine team and bomb technicians entered an area of the arena where an employee of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was present. The canine entered the room to sweep for the presence of any explosive material. As the sweep took place the WWE employee was accidentally bit by the canine. The employee sustained an injury to his lower left leg. Medical aid was immediately summoned to the scene and the employee was transported to a local area hospital for medical treatment.”"
Horrible timing to say the least, considering that it may look as if Nakamura was to work a program with Jeff Hardy for weeks. Even though plans for a Nakamura/Hardy feud could still be in place, it’s worth noting there’s still no word on when Nakamura will be returning to action.
It would very unfortunate for WWE, specifically for the Smackdown brand if Nakamura ends up being out of action for a long-period of time.
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With that being, hopefully the injury in short-term and won’t affect Nakamura’s performance in the long-run.