In the manga, Kirihara appears to only injure his opponent as necessary to make sure they do not win, not out of thoughtless malice. For example against Shusuke Fuji, once succeeding in blinding him, the only further shots at Fuji's body we see are extremely little and merely 'teasing' hits. Kippei Tachibana was also entirely well enough to participate in the match for Third Place in the Kantō Finals against Rokkaku (merely a week after he suffered his injuries from Kirihara).