Arsenal have withdrawn Takehiro Tomiyasu from international duty with Japan, following the defender’s appearance against the USA on Friday.

The Japan Football Association have confirmed that Takehiro Tomiyasu has withdrawn from their squad for the remainder of the international break, after playing 90 minutes against the USA in a 2-0 victory one day earlier.

Japan have another fixture against Ecuador on September 27th, but their football association reports that Tomiyasu won’t be involved “due to club circumstances”.

There’s no mention of an injury, and the fact Tomiyasu was okay to complete Friday’s match suggests he hasn’t picked up a new problem.

Instead, it looks like Arsenal may have agreed with Japan that it would be for the best if he only played one match over the break, given his fitness issues over the last 12 months.

The Gunners have been managing Tomiyasu’s fitness carefully this season so far, and neither club nor country will want to see him on the end of another major setback this week.

Arsenal have a hectic October schedule, in which Tomiyasu should feature frequently before the World Cup kicks off in November.

Tomiyasu recently told the media he’s planning to work hard to win back his starting role, having lost it to Ben White for the time being.

It’s been difficult for anyone to win a spot in the Premier League side in the opening month or so of the season, with the team performing so well and just one Europa League game for rotation.

But October is sure to provide opportunities for all of Arsenal’s current rotation options, and Tomiyasu is one of the players hoping to capitalise.