Leeds United midfielder's mystery absence from World Cup qualifier explained
Leeds United midfielder Ao Tanaka was absent from the Japan squad which took on Australia in FIFA World Cup qualifying on Thursday.
The Japanese national team have already booked their place at next summer's FIFA World Cup, topping one of the Asian confederation's final qualifying groups.
On Thursday, they faced Australia who are on the brink of booking their place at the Finals which are to be hosted across North America in 2026.
Japan were beaten by a late Aziz Behich winner, although for the Far East nation, the result was largely immaterial.
From a Leeds perspective, midfielder Tanaka did not feature, although that is not entirely out of the ordinary. He was not, however, involved in the matchday squad, which is somewhat less common.
It is likely the 26-year-old was rested by manager Hajime Moriyasu after a lengthy Championship campaign with the Whites which culminated in promotion back to the Premier League as champions.
Daniel Farke admitted Tanaka was emotionally spent during the final stages of the season, the first campaign of his top level career without a winter break, which is customary in Germany where he had previously played with Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Moriyasu had suggested in the lead up to this month's World Cup qualifying fixtures that players who had undergone significant load throughout the 2024/25 season would be rested in order to give them a better opportunity at recovery. In their place, younger and less-experienced international players were likely to feature, which appears to have been the case against the Socceroos.
The Japan boss made several changes to his starting lineup, leaving out star men Ko Itakura, Ritsu Doan, Hidemasa Morita, Kaoru Mitoma, Takumi Minamino, Tanaka, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda altogether.
Tanaka’s fitness
It is not thought Tanaka's absence has anything to do with an injury picked up in training, while the player is expected to return to Leeds in good physical health for the beginning of pre-season next month.
Japan complete their triumphant World Cup qualifying campaign next Tuesday with a home fixture against Indonesia and are guaranteed to finish in top spot, despite defeat by second-place Australia on Thursday.