After winning three contests in 2021 — the 2021 Europa Pro, the 2021 Arnold Classic UK, and the 2021 Yamamoto Pro — bodybuilder Nathan De Asha was on the cusp of consistent superstardom. Unfortunately for the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Pro League athlete, he will have to put any near-horizon competitive plans on a temporary hold.
On Nov. 7, 2022, De Asha posted a video to his Instagram revealing that he tore his right biceps tendon in July 2022. The athlete noted that he took appropriate time to recover and only started training again in late October 2022. As a result of this injury, the athlete will formally withdraw from the upcoming 2022 Mr. Olympia.
Editor’s Note: Graphic imagery and NSFW language in De Asha’s post.
De Asha’s latest biceps injury wasn’t his only unlucky stroke of fate in 2022. The bodybuilder noted that he previously tore his left biceps tendon in January 2022. That injury led the athlete to forgo defending his Arnold Classic UK title in March 2022. Even though he’s apparently healthy and training again — and still had his berth in the 2022 Olympia — a seemingly frustrated De Asha maintained it was unrealistic to expect him to compete in the mid-December contest on such a quick turnaround.
“… I’ve only started training for the past 14 days,” De Asha said. “As people see me a lot, I was a lot smaller a few weeks back trying to do, you know, a [expletive] three-week off-season to try to get to the Olympia. If we do it in three weeks, bro, and beat some of these [expletive] so-called top five from the show, then obviously they are a [expletive].”
In the same Instagram post, which can be scrolled through, De Asha clarified that it was a tough mindset to be on the mend at his usual gym pre and post-surgery to repair his biceps tendon (the precise date of his surgery was undisclosed). However, he appears to be fully recovered as he starts to look ahead to a fruitful return in 2023.
“Not many people at the gym knew what had gone on,” De Asha said. “The surgery happened a week later [after the tear]. The surgery happened on a Saturday. Before the surgery, I was out of the cast, walking around like a [expletive] T-Rex. If you guys noticed me, that’s why I had the operation … You can’t see it now, no imperfections there or nothing, but it happened.”
De Asha didn’t outline exactly when he expects to return to a stage in 2023. Though, if the athlete can return to a form that saw him capture three victories in the last instance he was at full capacity, he may return with a bang.
Featured image: nathandeasha2 on Instagram
