Super Smash Bros. Melee player Aziz “Hax” Al-Yami will undergo hand surgery this week in hopes of correcting a long-lingering injury, the player tweeted on Tuesday.
The injury, which has bothered him since May 2014, forced him to skip the recent Smash Summit 2 in April.
The surgery will be Al-Yami’s third on his left hand. In a blog post announcing his withdrawal from Smash Summit 2 last month, he revealed that although several problems in his hand and wrist had been identified, none were found to be the root of the pain.
This is Al-Yami’s third hiatus from competitive Smash play over the past 18 months. He took four months away from competition at the beginning of 2015 due to the same injury, then took a second break later in the year due to insomnia.
Al-Yami is unfortunately just one of several players who have had to deal with hand and wrist injuries. Daniel “KDJ” Jung retired from play last September due to injury. Hand injuries also forced Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman to skip Evo 2015.
In hopes of preventing future injuries, several community members have taken steps to educate players on hand health. Organizers of Super Smash Con held a hand health panel at last year’s Super Smash Con co-hosted by Al-Yami and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Cassie Root. Another orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Caitlin McGee, offered advice and hand massages to players at last month’s Pound 2016 event. Dr. McGee also discussed hand health on a recent appearance on TafoTalks.
We at The Daily Dot wish Al-Yami a successful surgery and a full, speedy recovery.
Screengrab via SSBM Tutorials/YouTube
