Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma has been left out of Japan's World Cup squad after suffering a hamstring injury.

Mitoma, who suffered an ankle injury earlier in the season, was forced off just before the hour mark during Brighton's win over Wolves last weekend.

The 28-year-old directly contributed to four goals (one goal, three assists) in four World Cup qualifying games for Japan, while he also scored against England in a 1-0 win at Wembley Stadium during the March international break.

Mitoma will now miss the chance to play in his second World Cup, having featured in all four of Japan's games at the 2022 edition, where they lost on penalties to Croatia in the last 16.

"[Japan have lost] a major presence," said manager Hajime Moriyasu on Mitoma's injury.

"This will hurt him more than it hurts anyone.

"I hope once he gets over this, he will recover as quickly as possible and get back to playing with total freedom."

Three Premier League players were named in the squad: Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace) and Ao Tanaka (Leeds United), while Celtic's Daizen Maeda was also included in the 26-man roster.

The squad also includes Real Sociedad's Takefusa Kubo and former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Japan have never advanced beyond the round of 16 at the World Cup. In fact, they hold the record for the most matches played without ever reaching the quarter-finals at the tournament (25).