German first-division club VfL Bochum decided not to acquire Urawa Reds midfielder Shinji Ono on Friday after the former Japan international complained of pain in his left ankle in practice. The decision came after Ono passed a physical in the morning but had to leave during the afternoon team practice because of the pain in the ankle he underwent surgery on last fall. "Bochum will decide whether to work with Ono in the future depending on how his ankle recovers," board director Stefan Kuntz said. Ono was transferred to Feyenoord in 2001 and remained with the Dutch first-division club for five seasons before returning to Urawa in 2006 after experiencing a series of injuries. Injuries, however, have continued to plague him and he has increasingly made more appearances as a substitute.
