Japanese football star Kaoru Mitoma recently completed his injury-plagued English Premier League campaign with Brighton. The Samurai Blue winger has been sidelined since February with a lower back injury and was previously out with a sprained ankle earlier in the season. Despite missing a significant portion of this season, Mitoma is now focused on coming back healthy for the next year.
Brighton finished 11th this season, five spots down from the previous year, after a 2-0 loss to Manchester United on Sunday. Mitoma expressed disappointment that he was not able to return to action before the end of the season, despite his improving condition. He mentioned that he is still not fit enough to play and will be focusing on getting back to full health for the upcoming season.
There are reports of interest from multiple clubs in Mitoma, but he remained uncertain about his future with Brighton. Although he flourished under Italian manager Roberto De Zerbi, who is leaving the team, Mitoma stated that he is currently under contract with Brighton. However, he added that he is unsure about what will happen in the future.
Meanwhile, Mitoma’s Japan teammate Takehiro Tomiyasu helped Arsenal secure a 2-1 comeback win against Everton. This result saw Arsenal finish two points back of champions Manchester City in the Premier League title race. In Italy’s top flight, Daichi Kamada scored the opening goal for Lazio in their 1-1 draw away to Inter Milan, with Lazio finishing in seventh place.
