Photo/Illutration Kento Momota, the world’s No. 1 badminton player, arrives at Narita Airport on Jan. 15 after returning from Malaysia, where his van was involved in a fatal accident. (Hikaru Uchida)

Kento Momota, the world's No. 1 badminton player, underwent surgery on Feb. 8 to repair a broken right eye socket, scuttling his quick return to competition following a fatal traffic accident he was involved in Malaysia last month.

Momota's club, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corp., said the 25-year-old player is hospitalized and will miss competitions for three months to recuperate, including the All England Open in March. 

Momota sustained facial injuries after a van carrying him and others crashed into the back of a truck on Jan. 13 in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur after he finished a competition there.

Although the Malaysian driver died in the accident, Momota and other passengers in the vehicle suffered only minor injuries, none life-threatening.

A medical examination Momota had at a hospital in Japan on Jan. 17 after his return showed that he sustained cuts to his face, but no bone fractures.

He joined a training camp for Japan’s national squad from Feb. 3 as he did not experience any difficulties in resuming his daily life after the accident.

But Momota complained of double vision in seeing the shuttlecock while he began playing with a racket on Feb. 4.

He was diagnosed with a right eye orbital blowout fracture when he underwent another checkup on Feb. 7 and had surgery the following day.

“We will decide on details of his schedule while monitoring his progress after the operation," Park Joo-bong, the head coach of the Japanese national team, said in a statement. "For now, Momota should focus on recovering from the injury.”

Momota's spot on the Japanese team for the Tokyo Olympics, which will be held between July 24 and Aug. 9, remains assured, given his performance at past international competitions.

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