Wataru Endo has withdrawn from Japan’s World Cup squad due to injury.
The 33-year-old midfielder had been recovering from a foot injury sustained in Liverpool’s Premier League game at Sunderland back in February, but this latest setback has forced him to make the difficult decision to stand down from the national team.
“Since my injury, I’ve done everything I possibly could up to this point, so I have no regrets whatsoever,” he said.
“From here on, I’ll be cheering for the Japan national team as one of the fans.”
Want more breaking news and thought-provoking opinion from original sources? Add LFC Click as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.
Endo earned 73 caps for Japan since 2015, scoring four goals in the process.
Sign-up to our free All Things Red newsletter, for matchday news and view plus giveaways and offers