J. League third-division side Tegevajaro Miyazaki announced the death of striker Masato Kudo on Friday following complications from brain surgery.

The 32-year-old, who won Japan's three major club titles with Kashiwa Reysol between 2011 and 2013, was hospitalized earlier this month after being diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluids within the brain.

Tegevajaro announced Tuesday that Kudo's condition had deteriorated following surgery on Oct. 11 and that he had been moved into intensive care.

"From his achievements in the J1 to being selected for the Samurai Blue, Kudo was an incredibly accomplished player," Tegevajaro President Keita Nimura said. "But in spite of that he was never arrogant and cherished his teammates, the club and our supporters.

"He personified our club slogan, 'shinshi' (sincere). For that sort of player to leave us so soon is sad and unfortunate."

The Tokyo native was a product of Kashiwa's famed youth academy, graduating to the top team in 2009. He scored 10 goals in the club's J2-winning promotional run, then contributing seven goals to the Nelsinho Baptista-managed side that won the 2011 J. League first division.

His keen tactical awareness and strong finishing skills made Kudo a fan favorite among the Reysol faithful, and his production increased with 13 goals in 2012 — the year he inherited the No. 9 uniform worn by ace striker Hideaki Kitajima — and 19 in 2013. He remains the club's leading scorer in the J1 with 56 goals.

In the summer of 2013 he made his national team debut as a member of the Japan squad that won the EAFF East Asian Cup in Seoul. That fall, Kudo was named MVP of the J. League Nabisco Cup final after scoring Reysol's lone goal in its 1-0 win over Urawa Reds.

"I'd taken notice of him since he was coached by Tatsuma Yoshida (current manager of Ventforet Kofu) at Kashiwa's youth team," Japan Football Association President Kozo Tashima said in a statement. "I will never forget his heroism in contributing to our first-ever title at the East Asian Cup.

"For a current player to pass away is incredibly cruel, and I'm at a loss for words when I think of what his family, teammates and supporters must be feeling."

Kudo's first overseas challenge came in 2016 when he joined Major League Soccer's Vancouver Whitecaps, where he got off to a promising start — only to suffer a serious injury in May of that year when he fractured his jaw and suffered a concussion in a collision with an opposing goalkeeper.

"I cannot believe my old teammate Masato Kudo has passed away, he was a fantastic guy," former Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted tweeted on Friday. "Condolences to his family. Truly a sad day."

Kudo returned to Japan in 2017, playing two seasons with the J1's Sanfrecce Hiroshima — and scoring just four goals in 30 league appearances — before joining second-division Renofa Yamaguchi on loan in 2019.

His second international stint took place with Australia's Brisbane Roar in the 2020-21 A-League season, followed by his arrival this winter at Tegevajaro.

A moment of silence was held in Kudo's memory before the kickoff Saturday's J. League YBC Levain Cup final between Sanfrecce and Cerezo Osaka at Tokyo's National Stadium.

"I am speechless at this news," J. League Chairman Yoshikazu Nonomura wrote in a statement. "This is a shocking and saddening time for everyone at his previous clubs and the entire soccer community."

Kudo leaves behind his wife of eight years and his 3-year-old daughter.