Japan captain Makoto Hasebe said Monday he will fly home for further tests after a right knee injury forced him to withdraw from the national team's upcoming final-round World Cup qualifiers against UAE and Thailand.
The 33-year-old midfielder will depart having only arrived in the Middle East from Germany on Sunday to speak with Japan national team medical staff about the injury he sustained with his Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt.
"There is a good chance I will go under the knife. I'll return to Japan for a third opinion with a trusted doctor," said Hasebe, who was advised by both Japan and Frankfurt staff to undergo arthroscopic surgery to monitor the damage to the knee.