Soccer-Question mark over Kobe’s Osako ahead of Jeonbuk quarter-final

Japan international striker Yuya Osako is a doubt for Vissel Kobe’s Asian Champions League quarter-final meeting with South Koreans Jeonbuk Motors on Monday, as the J1 League side look to reach the semi-finals for the second time in three seasons.

Osako featured for the first hour of Kobe’s surprise 3-2 win over J1 League leaders Yokohama F Marinos in the Round of 16 at Saitama Stadium on Thursday, but the 32-year-old former Werder Bremen forward’s involvement is uncertain due to injury. Kobe’s Spanish World Cup winner Andres Iniesta, meanwhile, is unlikely to start after the 38-year-old did not feature from the bench against Marinos.

“Both of them have situations with leg injuries and because of the tight schedule we can’t say anything about them at the moment,” said Kobe coach Takayuki Yoshida. “Iniesta was able to train over the last couple of days but he didn’t train today.”

Kobe are aiming to reach the semi-finals for the second time, two years after advancing to the last four when the continental club championship was held in Qatar during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. They take on a Jeonbuk side who laboured to defeat fellow Korean side Daegu FC deep into extra-time in the previous round and are looking for the club’s first Asian title since 2016.

Another two-time winner, Urawa Red Diamonds, will also be attempting to secure a place in the semi-finals when they take on Thailand’s BG Pathum United. That game sees Urawa coach Ricardo Rodriguez face his former club having led the Japanese side to a 5-0 win over Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim in the previous round.

“We have to keep doing what we were doing in the last game because we were at a very high level,” said Rodriguez. “From my experience in Thailand, I know they will want to fight against a Japanese team and show themselves. They will not give anything to us so we have to show what we are on the pitch, with good concentration. We can’t relax at all.”

Games involving clubs from the eastern half of the continent are playing the knockout rounds of this year’s Asian Champions League in Japan, with the quarter-finals on Monday and the semi-final on Thursday. Teams in western Asia will play their knockout matches in February, with the final to be played on a home-and-away basis on Feb. 19 and 26.

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