Yokohama F.Marinos announced on 28 July that Brazilian forward Edigar Junio will be out for prolonged period from an injury, dealing their title challenge a major blow.
Junio fractured his left knee in the league match against Vissel Kobe on 20 July and subsequently returned to Brazil for surgery. Recovery is expected to take three months.
A loan signing from Bahia, he has been instrumental in Yokohama’s rising form this season. He is currently the top scorer in J1, having scored 11 goals in 16 matches.
Yokohama’s next league match is against Shimizu S-Pulse on 3 August.
| P | TEAM | M | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Tokyo | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 42 |
| 2 | Yokohama F.Marinos | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 39 |
| 3 | Kawasaki Frontale | 19 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 38 |
| 4 | Kashima Antlers | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 37 |
| 5 | Oita Trinita | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 32 |
| 6 | Cerezo Osaka | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 31 |
| 7 | Consadole Sapporo | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 31 |
| 8 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 29 |
| 9 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 19 | 8 | 3 | 8 | -7 | 27 |
| 10 | Nagoya Grampus | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 26 |
| 11 | Gamba Osaka | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | -4 | 24 |
| 12 | Shonan Bellmare | 20 | 7 | 2 | 11 | -7 | 23 |
| 13 | Vegalta Sendai | 20 | 7 | 2 | 11 | -8 | 23 |
| 14 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | -16 | 22 |
| 15 | Vissel Kobe | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | -6 | 21 |
| 16 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -14 | 18 |
| 17 | Jubilo Iwata | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | -12 | 17 |
| 18 | Sagan Tosu | 20 | 5 | 2 | 13 | -16 | 17 |
For Japanese football news: CoolJapan Soccer
Source: Yahoo
Image: gettyimages
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