Takeru "uncertain" for ONE Championship's next Japan card, Rodtang fight still targeted

Japanese kickboxing superstar Takeru Segawa is "uncertain" about competing on ONE Championship's next Japan card, according to Chatri Sityodtong.

The chairman and CEO told Sportskeeda after Friday's ONE 166 card in Doha that tickets are set to go on sale in the next two weeks for the martial arts promotion's return to Tokyo.

Takeru lost a unanimous decision to flyweight champion Superlek Kiatmookao in the main event of ONE 165 at the Ariake Arena in late January and suffered a severe leg injury.

His status for a return is uncertain, with three months as the best-case scenario for recovery time and six months as the worst.

Sityodtong did not sound confident that "The Natural Born Crusher" would make it in time after his left leg was mangled by dozens of brutal low kicks from Thailand's Superlek. Sityodtong said:

"We're going to be announcing our next Tokyo event next week or the week after, tickets go on sale in the next two weeks for Tokyo, Denver [in September] and Bangkok [in June]. Takeru is still uncertain right now because his knee is fractured in two places so let's see what happens. I don't know if Takeru is going to fight on this next card, I have no idea."

Takeru was originally set to face Rodtang in January, but the flyweight Muay Thai champion withdrew from the fight injured, prompting the late switch to Superlek.

Sityodtong told Sportskeeda that he is still keen on rebooking that original blockbuster fight when the time is right, with Rodtang recently posting on social media that he is "95 percent ready."

"For sure, Rodtang versus Takeru is going to happen, they both want it, they're both elite best-of-the-best strikers on the planet who like to bang, and somebody is going to get knocked out, and they want it, so definitely."

Should Takeru miss out on the next Japanese card later this year, he is likely to land another in early 2025.

Or he could even compete sooner than that, with Sityodtong hinting at a possible return to action in Atlanta in November. He said:

"We've already started our events for Japan for next year also, multiple events in Japan and I'll probabaly announce that in several weeks. Takeru is going to have plenty of opportunities to fight in Japan, he also wants to fight in the US, so let's see. Step by step. So many things in the pipeline, we just have to go step by step."