The highly-rated winger is set to miss the remainder of the domestic season
Yu Hirakawa still hopes he can feature in this summer’s World Cup(Image: Freddie Yeo/MB Media/Getty Images)
Yu Hirakawa looks set to reject surgery on his injured ankle, in the hope he can return to fitness in time for this summer’s World Cup in North America.
The Hull City loanee was initially expected to go under the knife after advice from doctors following the injury he picked up in the 4-2 win over Derby County last month.
That was a recurrence of a pre-existing issue he first suffered playing for Japan in the Olympic Games in Paris two years ago, but with the Bristol City winger desperate to play in this summer’s tournament, it’s likely he will opt to recover naturally in the hope of returning sooner.
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Hirakawa is likely to be out for three months, which gives him a chance of getting back to fitness in time to be in Hajime Moriyasu’s squad for the opening group game against the Netherlands at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on June 14.
Had the 25-year-old opted to have surgery to try and fix his ongoing issue, it was expected that he would be out of action for four months, and therefore almost certainly miss the World Cup.
“I know that he went to Italy for one medical check, and I think he’s trying to do everything to avoid the surgery because of the World Cup,” Tigers head coach Sergej Jakirovic told Hull Live. “What I know is that he’s in the plan of the national team coach to go in the World Cup squad, so he’s trying to avoid surgery.
City had approached the EFL to have David Akintola replace Hirakawa in the club’s 25-man squad, but were rebuffed as initial medical reports suggest the winger would be sidelined for around three months.
It’s understood that the EFL would only consider allowing City to deregister Hirakawa if it was confirmed that he would be sidelined for four months or more.
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