BIZARRO NEWS ITEM: Just a week before Nathan’s International Hot Dog Eating Contest, the Japanese frankfurter-eating phenom Takeru Kobayashi has suffered an injury that could sideline him from the competition. The six-time Nathan’s champ is listed as “day-to-day” after suffering from jaw arthritis due to his extreme training.

On his blog, Kobayashi writes, “My jaw refused to fight any more. I feel ashamed that I couldn’t notice the alarm bells set off by my own body. But with the goal to win another title with a new record, I couldn’t stop my training so close to the competition. I was continuing my training and bearing with the pain but finally I destroyed my jaw.”

Kobayashi says he can open his mouth only to the width of a fingertip, but still plans to compete in the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest in Brooklyn, New York on July 4th, which he has won for six straight years, as well as the Pizza Hut P’Zone Challenge July 10 in Manhattan. Last year, the 29-year-old set a record by eating 53.7 hot dogs in 12 minutes at the Nathan’s contest.

The injury could put the kibosh on the anticipated showdown between Kobayashi and American hot-dog-eating upstart Joey Chestnut, who recently broke Kobayashi’s record by wolfing down 59.5 hot dogs in a qualify round of the Nathan’s contest. Kobayashi and Chestnut are ranked first and second, respectively, among competitive eaters, according to the International Federation of Competitive Eating.