Penn State wrestling’s Aaron Nagao has suffered an injury that “probably” needs surgery, according to head coach Cael Sanderson.

The Nittany Lion was forced to medically forfeit out of the Black Knight Invitational finals against No. 20 Braden Basile of Army back in November. Nagao made his comeback in the Southern Scuffle tournament in early January; however, medically forfeited out of the second round.

“With Aaron, we just wanted to give him as much time for recovery. But unfortunately, his injury probably requires another surgery.”

With Nagao out for the foreseeable future, Braeden Davis wrestled against Rutgers’ Tahir Parkins at 141 pounds for the Nittany Lions on Saturday after originally being slated to redshirt. This season, Davis is 5-0 after going 4-0 with two pins and two majors, winning the 141 title in the Kauffman Open in Edinboro on January 4.

Davis took fifth last season at the NCAA tournament and fourth in the Big Ten Championships. The Nittany Lion finished the season with a 17-7 record, boasting a pin, three technical falls, and two major decisions. In his true freshman season, Davis took first at the Big Ten tournament and finished with a 22-4 record with five major decisions and five technical falls.

Nagao, a former All-American at Minnesota before transferring to Penn State, went 17-7 in his first season with the program during the 2023-24 campaign. He finished one win shy of his second All-American distinction at the NCAA tournament and took third in the Big Ten tournament that season.

Nagao did not compete in the 2024-25 season due to a “major surgery.” This season, Nagao was expected to replace multi-time All-American Beau Bartlett in the 141-pound class, a weight above his usual 133 pounds.

The Nittany Lion was ranked as high as No. 7 in the country at 141 pounds according to Intermat. He started the season 5-2 with two technical falls, with his only two losses coming from his injury forfeits.