(Image Credit: artubr)
If you've paid any attention to Royal Never Give Up over the years, you've probably got your own personal shrine to perhaps the best player in the history of the game, ad carry Uzi.
But while he carries his team to superstardom through the champions he plays, it's his character in real life that's posing challenges to his goals.
Whether it's his shoulder or wrists, Uzi has had a history of injuries during his time running the game (even at the young age of 21.) In fact, Uzi's shoulder has forced him to consider retirement in the past. That's why any talk of Uzi's injuries are crucial to the game.
As reported first by ESPN's Jacob Wolf, Uzi's team RNG announced Wednesday on Weibo that Uzi will take a break from playing to rehabilitate his injuries, though these injuries weren't further specified.
Part of the announcement translate (roughly) to say this step down comes at the request of RNG's team doctor. This may come as little surprise to those paying attention, as the team wants Uzi in prime condition for games that perhaps matter more down the line than the 2018 LPL Summer Season, where RNG's already 1st place in the East region with a fairly dominant 5-1 match record (11-3 in games.) There have been no announcements as to how long this break will be.
While this decision is a good strategic move for the team (and for Uzi's health in the long term), it reiterates just how fragile the career of this absolute legend is. At just 21 years old, having multiple injury scares and retirement considerations is quite an unfortunate spot. Especially for an international juggernaut, in perhaps the most mechanically demanding role the game has.
The question will always remain of how long will we be able to watch Uzi shine on Summoner's Rift, and though this is a step in the right direction for extending that time a little further, it bodes poorly for the long-term prospects of this young phenom, and perhaps even LPL as a whole (and RNG) as a result, as they've leaned so much on his fantastic performance in international and domestic competition year after year.
We can only hope there are still years to come for his career, and we can only hope that time doesn't come with too much permanent damage.
What do you think of Uzi's career and future prospects? How long does the best ad carry in the game have left? Let us know in the comments below!