21 hours ago
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Kota Takai is edging towards a return to training with Tottenham Hotspur after a frustrating start to life at the Premier League club.
Spurs completed a £5million deal for the 20-year-old Japan international back in early July to bring him over from J.League side Kawasaki Frontale. However, not long after beginning training with the team after securing his work permit, Takai began to struggle with a problem with his foot and he is yet to play a single game, even a pre-season friendly, in the club shirt.
"Kota's got plantar fascia unfortunately. I don’t know exactly the scale of it, weeks," said his new boss Thomas Frank out in South Korea during the club's tour, with the Japanese centre-back left at Hotspur Way to recover.
Now football.london understands that the player has been working outside on the training pitches at the Enfield complex which hopefully means he is on the path to returning to training.
The 6ft 3ins defender has plenty of experience despite his age, having played 78 times at a senior level for Kawasaki, with 57 of those games coming in the J.League and he played a big role in his club winning the Japanese Super Cup last year and was duly named the J.League's Young Player of the Year.
Takai has also got plenty of experience in the AFC Champions League as an integral part of the Kawasaki side that reached the final this year. He made his Japan senior debut just after his 20th birthday and has appeared in four World Cup qualifiers so far. It would have been more but for an adductor injury suffered in October last year in a Japan squad featuring players that mostly ply their trade in European football.
Tottenham fans will be hoping to see the centre-back in training soon and getting back up to speed which may not take that long after playing half the season already in Japan.
English (US) ·