Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu has voiced his regret over the enforced withdrawal of Wataru Endo from his country’s World Cup squad.
The Liverpool midfielder was on track to captain the Blue Samurai at the tournament in North America, having recently returned from the serious ankle injury which cut short his club season.
Sadly, on the opening day of the finals, the 33-year-old confirmed that he’d stepped down from the World Cup squad and simultaneously announced his retirement from international football 11 years on from his debut.
Speaking through an interpreter prior to Japan’s opening Group F match against Netherlands on Sunday (via Daily Mail), Moriyasu explained that Endo had pushed hard to return to full fitness for the tournament, but ultimately concluded that it’d be impossible for him to do so.
The head coach said: “We had him try the best he could and also had the medical staff looking after him. We discussed that, throughout the World Cup, it may be difficult for him to perform for the entire period of the games.”
The 57-year-old added ruefully that Endo’s withdrawal from the finals was a decision which ‘had to be made’.
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It’s gutting for the Liverpool midfielder that he’d fought so hard to recovery in time for the World Cup, only to be forced into conceding defeat just as the tournament was beginning.
It’s a monumental blow not just for him personally but also for Japan, who’d already been deprived of Kaoru Mitoma through injury and have now lost their influential captain.
From a Reds perspective, at least his non-involvement in North America will afford him the chance of an extended break before returning for the start of pre-season under Andoni Iraola.
With fellow midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister not likely to return to Merseyside until late July or early August given their World Cup participation, Endo’s presence at the AXA Training Centre will be all the more welcomed by the new Liverpool head coach.
Hopefully the 33-year-old can bounce back from the bitter disapointment of missing out on this summer’s tournament by making a vital contribution at Anfield next term, just as he has done in his three seasons with the Reds so far.
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