Bristol City Latest Update After 23-Year-Old Was Forced Off Of Japan’s Olympics Opener

Yu Hirakawa was forced off of Japan’s Olympics opener against Paraguay with an ankle injury

Bristol City will have to wait for an update on how serious Yu Hirakawa’s ankle injury is after the winger was forced off of Japan’s Olympics opener against Paraguay in Bordeaux on a stretcher.

The 23-year-old was subject to a rash challenge on his right ankle from Paraguay’s Wilder Viera, who was eventually shown a red card following a VAR consultation.

Hirakawa was able to continue initially but that didn’t last long with the summer addition having to exit the pitch on a stretcher, suggesting that he was in some serious discomfort. Japan then went on to win 5-0.

The club’s first ever Japanese player, Hirakawa joined City earlier this month on an initial loan deal from J-League side Machida Zelvia and could well become a permanent addition come January which is when his contract with the Japanese outfit expires. Bristol Live understands that, should he impress for the Championship side before then, that he will become a full-time Robin.

With the signing of Fally Mayulu from Austrian side Rapid Vienna too, the acquisition of the forward represents City’s widening scope in identifying players as they seek value in the transfer market. This summer has also seen a number of other Championship sides, such as Derby County and Preston North End, sign players from overseas, suggesting that there may well be a change in recruitment strategies throughout hte second tier.

Able to play on either flank, Hirakawa had the opportunity to meet and work with his new teammates out in Portugal before jetting off to the Paris Olympics. However, it is now unclear whether the 23-year-old will not only miss the remainder of the tournament with Japan but the start of the Championship season too and how much.

The latter may well have been the case anyway considering that the forward would have likely been offered an extended break post-Olympics that would have run into the first week or two of the new campaign, with the Robins set to travel to Hull City on August 10 to start their season.