And now he's back.

Soon after Naoki Soma was announced as a substitute for the Antlers in Saturday's game against the Urawa Reds, thousands of Kashima fans at Tokyo's National Stadium started chanting the name of the long-absent player. Soma was listed on the team sheet for the first time in nine months. The 30-year-old left-back had been sidelined with a knee ligament injury he suffered during an Emperor's Cup semifinal on Dec. 29, also at the National Stadium. He underwent surgery in February and then worked on rehabilitation at a sports training center in Tottori for five months before rejoining his team in Ibaraki Prefecture for further training.

On Saturday, Soma came off the bench at the beginning of extra time and helped his team edge the Reds 2-1 with his aggressive play down the left flank. Although it was a short outing, he looked sharp, earning two corners and a throw-in that led to the winning goal.

"It just took me so long to come back," said a relieved Soma after playing Saturday in his 224th league game. In fact, the 1998 World Cup team member said he thought his comeback would happen later than it did.

"I thought it would take another two or three weeks to get a game," he admitted.

He admitted he felt the tension, as much for the close game as for his comeback.

"The game was so tight, I was focusing on that quite intensely, even on the bench," he explained. "I was able to get into the game without feeling any extra pressure.

"Also," he continued, grinning, "I wanted to win by any means as I didn't want to lose in my comeback game."

Soma noted that he was simply trying to get into the flow of the game. But he actually did more than that and started to show some of his old self, dominating down the left side and starting to control the game.

"Because it was extra time I played without too much pressure from our opponents and that enabled me to come out and attack," Soma said.

"I didn't want people to say, 'You can't expect too much from him because he's been injured.' I've worked hard in training to make people think, 'Hey, he looks better than before.'

"Today I played only 13 minutes, but I want to be able to play longer -- for 90 minutes and then 120 minutes."

Kashima manager Toninho Cerezo was obviously happy to see the old warhorse back.

"Soma is a high quality player and knows what he should do in that kind of situation," he commented after Saturday's game. "I didn't hesitate to give him a run out.

"I'm happy with the win but also happy with his return to the game, which is good news for us."

In Soma's absence during the first stage, the Antlers struggled, finishing in 11th place with a 6-1-8 win-draw-loss record. With several players injured, last season's treble winners failed to show their best form. The club brought in Brazilian Augusto to cover for Soma and with the return of other players, the Antlers have regained much of their old form. They are currently leading Division One after six games of the second stage.

Asked how Cerezo will use Soma and Augusto for the remaining matches, the Brazilian boss replied: "I'll look at our opponents at the time and use the one who is in better shape. But this is an enjoyable situation for a manager."

Soma isn't worried about the competition.

"I'll work hard to make our manager say that he wants me," he said. "For now, I'm happy with the fact that I've made a big step forward and am playing again."

The chants of Soma's name rose from the stands again after the final whistle.

"It felt great to see the fans had been waiting for me," Soma said. "As I could do nothing for our team in the first stage, I want to do as much as I can from now on and would like to repay the kindness and support that I've had from many people while I was working on my rehabilitation."