Injured Mitoma left out of Japan World Cup squadImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Kaoru Mitoma made his debut for Japan in 2021 and has scored nine goals in 31 appearances ByLorraine McKennaBBC Sport JournalistPublished8 minutes agoBrighton winger Kaoru Mitoma has been left out of Japan’s 26-man squad for the World Cup this summer. The 28-year-old suffered a hamstring injury in the Seagulls’ 3-0 win against Wolves last weekend and will miss the club’s final two Premier League games of the season against Leeds United and Manchester United.
Japan, in Group F, begin their tournament against the Netherlands on 14 June before games against Tunisia on 21 June and Sweden five days later.
Manager Hajime Moriyasu named his squad on Friday, with Liverpool’s Wataru Endo, Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada, Ao Tanaka of Leeds and Celtic’s Daizen Maeda all included.
