Takehiro Tomiyasu has sent his best wishes to his Arsenal team-mate Gabriel Jesus after he was ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury.
Jesus picked up an injury in Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Cameroon in their final group game on Friday. He is expected to be sidelined for around three months because of the problem, which Brazil manager Tite said was picked up in the match, not before the tournament.
The 25-year-old will miss Brazil’s last 16 clash against South Korea on Monday night and his injury also comes as a blow to Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s side are top of the Premier League, but will have to cope without their summer signing for the coming months.
Tomiyasu is currently preparing for Japan’s knockout game against Croatia on Monday, but he still found time to send a message to Jesus. Speaking to the press in the mixed zone, the defender was asked about Jesus’ injury.
"It's a shame, because obviously to play in a World Cup is a big dream for us, for every football player,” he said. “So I'm sorry for him, but hopefully he will be back soon."
Tomiyasu has already made a big impact at Arsenal, who he joined from Bologna in September 2021. The Japan international is a hugely popular member of the squad and will be hoping to stay fit for the remainder of the campaign after a few niggling problems.
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The 24-year-old has struggled with a calf injury and has only made two substitute appearances for Japan at the World Cup so far.
Meanwhile, Brazil boss Tite hit back hard against reports that Jesus had been nursing an injury when he joined up with the squad for the tournament. “I don’t like hearing lies out there – these are evil lies,” he said.
“They are put about by people who want to do bad things for other people. At no time do we play for victory by putting players in peril. My message is to these liars: Stop giving fake news.
“Arsenal have a great medical department - we have a great medical department. We are ethical. We are very sorry for Gabriel. But this never happened.”
Jesus will not be involved in Arsenal’s warm weathering training camp. The Gunners jetted out to Dubai on Sunday to prepare for the second half of the season.
Arteta’s side will take part in the Dubai Super Cup during the World Cup break, facing Lyon on December 8 and AC Milan on December 13. They will then play Juventus in another friendly in north London on December 17 before returning to competitive action against West Ham on Boxing Day.
