Actress Rinko Kikuchi suffered an injury last month that has forced her to leave the cast of Yoichi Sai's action film "The Legend of Kamui," which is based on a manga by Sanpei Shirato.

Sources say that the injury occurred on December 18 during filming in Nago, Okinawa. The scene involved Kikuchi running across a beach, but afterwards she complained of pain in both legs. She returned to Tokyo the next day and was examined by a doctor, who diagnosed her with torn muscles in both thighs. It was estimated that she would take 8 weeks to fully recover, and her scenes were initially postponed until mid-May.

About three weeks prior to Kikuchi's incident, starring actor Kenichi Matsuyama had also suffered an injury that required 3 weeks of recovery. That had already set the film's schedule back, as filming was originally planned to wrap up in February.

The combination of setbacks and other logistical considerations meant that delaying the film much longer was impossible, and producers had to make adjustments to their plans. Based on the length of Kikuchi's recovery, it was determined that she would not have enough time to prepare for the difficult action scenes. As an unavoidable result, Kikuchi had to be dropped from the cast. It is not yet clear if she will be replaced by another actress or if her character will be removed entirely.

"The Legend of Kamui" has been scheduled for release sometime in 2009.