AZ misses defender Sugawara in preparation due to injury
AZ has to do without defender Yukinari Sugawara in preparation for the new season. The Japanese is recovering from a knee injury that he successfully operated on in his home country last week, the club from Alkmaar said.
Sugawara struggled with a knee injury in the final phase of last season in the Eredivisie. In close consultation it was decided to go under the knife in Japan and to rehabilitate in the Netherlands. The 21-year-old defender is expected to have to recover from the surgery for a few weeks.
Last season, Sugawara played fifty official matches for the club from Alkmaar. He provided seven assists and scored once himself. Sugawara was also selected for the Japan national team for the last international match, but due to his injury he did not play.