Monterrey, June 12 (IANS) Japan have suffered a major setback after captain Wataru Endo withdrew from the FIFA World Cup with a foot injury, three days before their opening fixture against the Netherlands.

National team director Masakuni Yamamoto confirmed on Friday (IST) that Endo, who captained the Samurai Blue throughout qualifying, will miss the finals, having failed to recover from a foot injury that required surgery in late February.

Borussia Monchengladbach forward Shuto Machino has been called up as Endo’s replacement, while centre-back Ko Itakura has been confirmed as replacement captain. The defender, also based at Gladbach, wore the armband in the Kirin Challenge Cup match against Colombia in March.

Endo, capped 73 times by Japan, played his first game since February 11 when appearing in the first half of the team’s 1-0 friendly win over Iceland in their Tokyo send-off on 31 May.

He had been training separately from the rest of the Japan squad at their base in Nashville, making a partial return to full training on Wednesday prior to the announcement.

Followong his withdrawal, Endo officially retired from international football. “From the moment I got injured up until now, I have done everything I possibly could, so I have no regrets,”

Endo said in a statement said, “As announced, I will be stepping away from the World Cup squad. Since my injury, I’ve done everything I possibly could up to this point, so I have no regrets whatsoever.

“Of course, there’s frustration at not being able to participate in this World Cup, but more than that, I’m proud of how we’ve grown together since the Qatar World Cup—me as captain, leading this team and turning our goal of “winning the World Cup” into something we can say as a matter of course.

“The current team is truly a wonderful team. I believe they will overcome any adversity and show us sights we’ve never seen before. With this campaign, I will be retiring from the national team. So from here on, I’ll be cheering for the Japan national team as one of the fans.

The 33-year-old Liverpool midfielder is the anchor in the Japan engine room and coach Hajime Moriyasu had previously indicated that he would be fit in time for the finals.

Japan are in Group F and will open their campaign against the Netherlands in Dallas on 14 June.

–IANS

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