Io Shirai reportedly out for two months due to knee injury

The weekly NXT Injury Report video is usually storyline. But not always. It was an early source for what turned out to be legitimate injuries to Velveteen Dream, Johnny Gargano, and Fandango.

Unfortunately, it looks like we can add Io Shirai to that list.

The Genius of the Sky was covered in Matt Camp’s latest video as day-to-day due a “tweaked knee”. She could be clutching her knee after the brawl which ended her match with Toni Storm on the Jan. 22 episode of NXT, but it was impossible to tell if she was working.

Two things now indicate she wasn’t.

Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio today (Jan. 26) that Shirai is injured for real. He didn’t have specifics about the issue itself, but sources told him it looks like she’ll be out for two months.

Io herself tweeted this photo of a knee brace yesterday afternoon:

The 29 year old Japanese Superstar is considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, but her WWE career has been rocky from the start. She was offered a contract along with Kairi Sane in 2017, but neck & heart issues discovered during medical testing led to delays in her signing. Shirai did sign in 2018, and was the runner-up in the second Mae Young Classic tournament. She’s been a regular on NXT television, but many fans are surprised she hasn’t been promoted or given a title run. Rumors indicate she may already be unhappy and looking to return to Japan.

Now this.

We’ll keep you posted with any additional updates on Shirai’s status.