In later years on the "dohyō" he again had injury problems, being forced to withdraw from his final "san'yaku"-ranked tournament in September 2005 and missing all of the next. He defeated "yokozuna" Asashōryū on the second day of the 2006 May tournament, his first "kinboshi" in 45 tournaments (only Kirinji, with 47 tournaments, has had a longer wait between "kinboshi") but he could only manage a 6–9 record overall. He was then again forced to sit out all of the September 2006 tournament and fell to the second division once again. However, he made something of a comeback in May 2007, turning in a strong 10–5 record at "maegashira" 7. He won his 600th career bout in September 2007, and turned in another good performance in May 2008, again finishing on 10–5.