Takehiro Tomiyasu was left out of Japan’s squad to face Myanmar in their opening game of the international break, with the Arsenal defender reportedly fatigued.

When Japan announced their squad to face Myanmar in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday, Takehiro Tomiyasu was a notable absentee from both the lineup and the bench.

Though no official explanation for the decision has yet been given, Japan’s treatment of Tomiyasu in training over the last few days gives us a major hint.

In the build-up to Thursday’s game, Japanese outlet Hochi News report that Tomiyasu wasn’t always involved in full training with the squad, taking on an individualised regime.

Japan justified this by explaining that they had taken fatigue into account, ensuring that Tomiyasu is properly rested.

For now, it doesn’t seem like Tomiyasu’s absence gives too much cause for concern.

The player has still been fit enough to remain with the national team and take part in some form of training, and it seems Japan are just worried about overplaying him, rather than a specific injury concern.

There had been some worries about Tomiyasu’s fitness ahead of Arsenal’s game against Burnley last Saturday, but the player managed to complete the 90 minutes on that occasion.

After the game, Mikel Arteta revealed that the defender had an issue with his contact lens, but that appeared to be the only problem.

Japan have one more game against Syria later in the break, on Tuesday, November 21st. Tomiyasu will hope to return to the action for his country in that fixture.