Japan blow: Minamino tears ligaments, may miss World Cup 2026 | OneFootball

The recovery will take between six and nine months, which means his participation in the World Cup is practically ruled out.

The 2026 World Cup will lose one of its most representative stars. Takumi Minamino, captain of the Japan national team, suffered a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and his presence at the World Cup is practically ruled out.

The injury occurred during the French Cup match between Monaco and Auxerre. After medical examinations, the worst diagnosis was confirmed: the forward will need an estimated recovery time of six to nine months, a period that leaves him out of competition for the tournament to be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Japan will open its World Cup campaign on June 14 against the Netherlands, at the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington, Texas. They will also share a group with Tunisia and a team coming from the European playoffs, which could be Poland or Ukraine.

Minamino, who will turn 31 years old next month, was key in the qualifying process: he scored four goals in the Asian Qualifiers, where Japan became one of the first teams to secure its ticket to the World Cup. The attacker has 73 international appearances and 26 goals, in addition to having played in the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

The injury will also sideline him for the rest of the Champions League with Monaco, which is currently 19th out of 36 teams after six rounds of the regular phase and still has to face Real Madrid and Juventus, in key matches for their continuity in the European tournament.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.