Yokozuna Harumafuji will skip the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament starting Sunday due to an ankle injury, the Japan Sumo Association said Friday.

It will be the third major tournament the Mongolian-born grand champion has missed since the 2010 Kyushu basho and his first absence from the ring since being promoted to sumo’s top rank of yokozuna at the 2012 Kyushu basho.

It will be the first time for a yokozuna to miss a major tournament since Asashoryu at the 2008 Kyushu basho.