It seems as though fans might not get to see Nicholas Meregali back in action any time soon, as he is facing an even longer recovery from injury after a second shoulder surgery. Meregali was one of the top gi competitors in the world and his transition to no gi was incredibly successful right from the start. ADCC 2022 was his first major tournament appearance and he finished with both a silver and a bronze medal, a superb performance for a first attempt at glory. Because of that, there was a huge amount of attention on his return at ADCC 2024 and he was one of the favorites to win the under 99kg division.
Things definitely did not go as planned for Meregali though, as he ended up on the receiving end of one of the biggest upsets in ADCC history. It was a devastating moment, and not just because it dashed his hopes of becoming the double champion that year. In the process of being submitted by Michael Pixley, Meregali was hit with a huge throw that saw him land awkwardly and suffer clear damage to his shoulder. He was seen later on at the event with his arm in a sling and the early reports were that he would have to undergo surgery and take almost half a year off competition.
Although he later dropped hints that he might be making a return earlier than that, his recovery has now taken a turn for the worse. He recently revealed that although he has been focused on a return to full health, he has had to undergo a second bout of surgery in order to repair his shoulder. This has set him back and his recovery time now sits at around 4 to 6 months, assuming everything goes well during that time. That would put his return to competition at some time around August 2025, meaning that he’s missed out on roughly an entire year of his competitive career.
Nicholas Meregali shared the update on his shoulder injury after undergoing surgery for the second time in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
