National team one of the issues troubling Rui Borges’s star at Sporting | OneFootball

Hidemasa Morita revealed that he is going through a "difficult phase" at Sporting - this after the victory of the lions against Santa Clara - and now, the reasons have been explained. It is known that the main reason is indeed related to the Japan national team, but not only that.

According to the newspaper Record, the Japanese international is psychologically worn out and, at this time, he fears missing the next World Cup 2026. The fear of Sporting's number 5 is due to several physical problems he has had recently.

The fact that muscle injuries over the last season and a half have hindered his contribution at Alvalade and also to his country ends up hurting Morita. The truth is that since 2024/25, the Japanese player has already missed 21 games and continues to seek greater consistency.

"At the moment, I am fighting with myself. Every day I question myself and work hard. Returning to the Azores, where my journey in Europe began, and being able to play against my former club, Santa Clara, was a very special opportunity for me in this personally difficult phase," admitted Morita.

This season, wearing the Sporting jersey, Hidemasa Morita - valued at 11 million euros - has played 14 matches. In this start of the season, the Japanese international midfielder has played a total of 633 minutes, in which he assisted his teammates on one occasion.

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