Liverpool star Wataru Endo has now shared his verdict on Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Wataru Endo will know Arsenal ace Takehiro Tomiyasu well from their shared experiences in the Japan national team setup.
Tomiyasu has been in fine form for the north London club in recent weeks. The versatile 25-year-old defender particularly caught the eye with his impressive display against Lens, in the Gunners’ most recent Champions League outing.
The former Bologna man kept his place in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI when Arsenal welcomed Wolves to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. He made a strong start to the game, and picked up an assist for Bukayo Saka’s opening goal, but was unfortunately forced off with injury with ten minutes to go.
Injury issues have regularly punctuated Tomiyasu’s Arsenal career so far. Since his £19.8 million arrival in the summer of 2021, Tomiyasu has struggled to ever maintain an extended run in the regular starting XI without fitness issues halting his progress.
It remains to be seen if he sustained any serious damage against Wolves. After the match, Arteta said, “he felt something, I don’t know if it was fatigue, we decided to change straight away with him, we didn’t want to take any risk. Let’s assess how he is,” as quoted by the club’s official website.
Arsenal must help Takehiro Tomiyasu deal with injury fears
The Spanish coach will be hoping that Tomiyasu was just suffering with a bit of cramp, or something similar, and will be fit to play again very soon. It will be fascinating to see if he is in contention to start against Luton Town on Tuesday evening. Beyond being an unwelcome strain on squad depth, it would be a major blow to see Tomiyasu now sidelined for a significant period when he has been in such good form.
Tomiyasu himself will be desperate to maintain his fitness throughout this season. Endo has now made it clear that the Arsenal man has struggled to come to terms with his injury issues in the past.
As quoted by The Times, the Liverpool ace said, “he has a glass heart. Tomiyasu, he is sometimes thinking too much. Like when he gets an injury — it is because he has eaten something, or it’s his car. He always tries to change something. Like superstition.”
“I understand that reaction but, actually, don’t think too much. That’s what I always told him: don’t think too much.”
It is not unusual for footballers, or athletes of any description, to be superstitious. However, overthinking can lead to issues. Certainly in the case of injuries, if Tomiyasu doesn’t feel he can trust his body, or is constantly changing up his routine in search of some underlying cause for his fitness problems, then that could cause further problems. People at Arsenal will certainly be working with the 37-cap Japan international to help him deal with these concerns in the best way.
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