LONDON – French top-division football club Monaco revealed Monday that Japanese midfielder Takumi Minamino has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, most likely ruling him out of the World Cup kicking off next June.
The 30-year-old suffered the injury during Sunday’s French Cup clash with Auxerre and was substituted midway through the game.
The club did not say when Minamino was expected to return, but the typical timeline for an ACL injury would see the former Liverpool and Salzburg player unavailable for the World Cup hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Minamino has made 73 appearances for the Samurai Blue and scored 26 international goals.
He played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and has been an integral member of Hajime Moriyasu’s squad leading up to the next edition of the tournament.
Japan has been drawn to face the Netherlands, Tunisia and the winner of a European playoff in Group F.