Kaoru Mitoma injury update: Is Brighton star playing for Japan at Asian Cup and when will he return?

Brighton & Hove Albion avoided defeat at arch-rivals Crystal Palace on December 21 but lost a key player as Kaoru Mitoma became their latest star to suffer an injury.

The loss of Mitoma adds to an attacking absentee list for the Seagulls including the likes of on-loan Barcelona forward Ansu Fati, Paraguay prodigy Julio Enciso, and winger Solly March, who is expected to miss the rest of the 2023/24 season with a knee injury.

Japan international Mitoma had been set to feature for his country at the Asian Cup, which runs for almost a month across January and February, before his injury appeared to put that in doubt. However, he was called up to the Japan squad on January 1, much to the surprise of Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi.

Will the 26-year-old be available for the tournament? How many Premier League matches could he miss? The Sporting News has the latest on the situation.

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Speaking on December 28, Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi said he expected Mitoma to be out for between four and six weeks.

Four weeks from the date when Mitoma sustained the ankle injury, that would give him an earliest return date of January 18, 2024, ignoring any time needed to regain match fitness. Six weeks would mean an earliest return of February 1.

The hugely popular player had posted an update earlier in the week to his Instagram following of more than 1.4 million.

"It is frustrating to be out injured but I will come back stronger," said Mitoma, accompanying his post with a photo of himself taking on a marker during the game at Palace.

The news means that ultra-consistent Mitoma is likely to miss more games than he did in the entirety of his first season in Brighton's