Brakpan-based Xtreme Kickboxing Technologies (XKT) Pro League fighter JP “Tinkerbell” Kruger was gearing up to face Darren “Double D” Daniel in the hexagon, for Daniel’s return after a two-year hiatus, but, in the build-up to the night, Kruger has suffered a potential career-threatening injury to his vertebrae and has been forced to withdraw.
In a letter to his fans, Kruger said: ”It is with great regret that I have to inform you that I, unfortunately, have no choice but to withdraw from the EFC 37 event, due to a training incident that has forced me to put aside my fighting career for a while.
“An injury to my vertebrae, sustained during a wrestling session, has caused severe damage to my C4-5 and C6-7 vertebrae and I have been informed by my specialist that an operation and some recovery time is needed to rectify the injury.
“It is so difficult for me to do this, as I have trained harder than I have ever trained for a fight and I am really sad that I am not the one to welcome Double D back to the Hexagon.
“However, I can tell you that I will be back sooner than you think and cannot wait to get back in there and face whomever the EFC will have for me.
“For my recovery period I will focus on training my own team and studying every aspect of the game, and you will definitely witness a new and improved Tinkerbell.
“It breaks my heart to have to share this with you, as it is the first time in my life that I have had to pull myself from a fight.”
EFC matchmaker Graeme Cartmell is currently in negotiations with a replacement athlete, to face Daniel at EFC 37.
