Shoya Nakajima pulled out of Japan's Asian Cup squad

Portimonense star Shoya Nakajima has been dropped from Japan's squad, the national association revealing in a statement that this was due to an unspecified injury.

It comes to the great disappointment of many, who were looking forward to seeing a Portimonense player on the biggest stage in Asia. 

Instead, he will play no part in the competition, and has been replaced by Real Betis winger Inui.

Nakajima, it can be pointed out, played for Portimonense on Wednesday, just 3 days ago, in a shock 2-0 victory over Benfica, and was taken off in stoppage time.

No injury concerns seemed evident, but the official word is that he is out of contention due to an injury sustained which should, hypothetically, mean that he remains out of Portimonense's next two or three games.

The cynics could suggest that the reason he has been dropped from the squad is to facilitate a lucrative move to the English Premier League, who he has been linked with on numerous occasions over the past few months.

Both Wolves and Southampton have been closely linked to the talented Japanese winger, with the latter seeming the most likely to bring him in, manager Hassenhuttl refusing to deny his side's interest in the explosive attacker.