Japan has ruled captain Wataru Endo out of the World Cup due to injury, according to Fabrizio Romano.
He will be replaced by Shuto Machino.
Endo, 33, underwent surgery for a broken foot in February before slowly reintegrating with the club late in the campaign. He played one half of Japan’s friendly against Iceland on May 31.
The Liverpool defensive midfielder said earlier this week that he had high expectations or the Japanese side heading into the tournament.
“We will do our best with pride and passion to achieve something that we’ve never seen before in Japan’s soccer history,” Endo said.
Japan is set to open their World Cup on Sunday against the Netherlands in Group F action.
