An injury to captain Kazuki Himeno has thrown Japan's preparations into disarray on the eve of its Rugby World Cup opener against Chile at Stadium de Toulouse on Sunday.
After missing practice on Friday, Himeno had assured the media that he was just following conditioning protocols. But he spent Saturday's captain's run at the match venue on the sidelines with his left leg heavily strapped.
"He's got a bit of a calf problem," assistant coach Tony Brown said. "We are hoping he will come right in time for the game, but we won't know until tomorrow."