Kaoru Mitoma has suffered an ankle injury, will be out for at least four weeks and is almost certain to not recover in time for the 2023 Asian Cup.
Mitoma was injured in Brighton's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in the 18th round of the Premier League on December 22. He left the field in the 83rd minute with a limp. Immediately afterwards, Mitoma shared: "I will be out for a while, but I will come back stronger."
Ahead of today's match against Tottenham in Round 19, coach Roberto De Zerbi said Brighton will be without Mitoma for four to six weeks, while the 2023 Asian Cup takes place from January 12, 2024 to February 10, 2024. When asked if the midfielder could participate in the tournament in Qatar, coach De Zerbi replied: "I'm not sure, but probably not."
Midfielder Kaoru Mitoma celebrates after scoring to help Japan beat Australia 2-0 in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup. Photo: AFP
This is bad news for the Japanese team, as Mitoma is their most important player on the left wing. The East Asian representative aims to win the Asian Cup, and will start their campaign to conquer the title in Qatar with matches in Group D against Vietnam, Iraq and Indonesia.
Mitoma was born in 1997, played professionally since 2018 for Kawasaki Frontale and joined Brighton in 2021. He is one of the best dribblers in the Premier League at the moment. Previously, the 26-year-old player also used dribbling techniques as the topic of his graduation thesis while studying at Tsukuba University.
Mitoma was first called up to the Japanese national team in November 2021 for the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, and was named in the squad for the finals in Qatar. He helped Japan reach the round of 16, where they lost to Croatia on penalties.
Mitoma's most memorable moment was the assist for Ao Tanaka's winning goal in a 2-1 win over Spain in the final group stage match. The goal was controversial as it was deemed to have gone over the goal line when Mitoma touched the ball, but was later ruled valid thanks to VAR and touch-in-the-ball technology.
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