Well once again we face the reality of not knowing what players are currently injured – other than waiting until the starting 11 and reserves are announced pre-match – so we have to assume some injuries have carried over from last week and what to expect moving forward.
# 2 Masutani Kosuke CB: Absent from the starting 11 and reserves against Ehime F.C., I am not sure what injury he has picked up. I was there to see him finish out the match vs Omiya and he looked fine so he must’ve taken a knock in training or picked up an injury. Let’s hope for a speedy recovery because we will need all hands on deck in the back for the grueling J2 campaign.
# 33 Fukui Ryoki CB: Was dealing with some serious lower leg cramps near the end of the match vs Ehime FC and had to be subbed off in the 93’. This shouldn’t be a major issue going forward as his match fitness should improve over time along with playing a full match. In his defense, he was all over the pitch making play after play so getting worn down like he did while assisting in maintaining a clean sheet is totally understandable. Hydrate and stretch big man and hopefully we see you out there against Tokushima as that is a nice pairing at CB for FCR with Okazaki.
#4 Okazaki Ryohei CB: He seemed to take a nasty knock in the match and stayed down clutching his lower right leg. Despite Tokumoto signaling that either a trainer or change was required while standing over him, Okazaki was able to see out the match. He didn’t display any noticeable limp or loss of lateral movement or speed but we’ll see how he progresses throughout this week and if he’s in the starting 11/reserves next week. We really can’t afford to be dealing with too many injuries at the back this early as each of the players I’ve mentioned so far have been pretty solid for FCR.
#10 Tomidokoro Yu MF: Probably the injury update that most FCR fans want to read about. I was lucky enough to speak with Tomidokoro at this week’s match when he walked by me heading to the stands for a community relations event. I asked if he was doing alright and he replied with a “yes.” I asked him what was his injury and he pointed to his foot. This could indicate anything from an ankle sprain, soft tissue injury, plantar fasciitis or footballer’s ankle. Here is the good news, he was not walking with any noticeable limp, moved up and down stairs with ease, raised and lowered the injured foot with no issues.
Of course I had to ask when he would return to the lineup, to which he replied, “one week.” This is encouraging news because whatever ailed him has had time to heal and begin the strengthening process and will allow him to return to practice and ultimately match fitness. It seems FCR will be without his service for at least one more week and barring any setbacks in training, we’ll see him out there against Montedio Yamagata.
Well that’s all for player injury updates. I simply lucked out by being in the right place at the right time to hear directly from the player as to what was afflicting him. I hope there are no repercussions for the players engaging the fans and being as candid about their injuries as Tomidokoro was, but I’m grateful that he was and hope we have greater visibility on the match fitness of all the FCR players.
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