Samurai Japan Dealt Blow as Mitoma Injured Ahead of World Cup

Tokyo, May 11 (Jiji Press)--Japanese soccer star Kaoru Mitoma injured his left leg during a English Premier League match on Saturday, dealing a setback to the Japanese men's national soccer team just one month before the start of this year's World Cup.

Mitoma, a midfielder who plays for Brighton and Hove Albion FC, is believed to have pulled a muscle, shattering his chances of playing in the tournament hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

"It doesn't seem like a minor injury," said Hajime Moriyasu, coach of the Japanese national team, nicknamed Samurai Japan. Moriyasu is set to announce his World Cup squad on Friday.

Mitoma's unavailability for the World Cup presents the coach with a difficult decision on whom to tap as left winger, after fellow Japanese players Takumi Minamino of AS Monaco in the French top league tore an anterior cruciate ligament last year and Yuito Suzuki of SC Freiburg in Germany fractured his collarbone recently.

In the previous World Cup in Qatar, Mitoma made many memorable plays as a member of Samurai Japan, scoring two goals in a qualifier against Australia and playing the ball on the goal line by a hair's breadth to assist a goal in an upset victory against Spain in the group stage.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]