Omiya Ardija on Wednesday announced that midfielder Ataru Esaka will require four weeks to recover from injury.

The 23-year-old injured his right MCL last week during the team’s training camp in Okinawa.

In his rookie season, Esaka scored 13 goals in 42 appearances for Thespa Kusatsu in the 2015 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League. He will likely miss Ardija’s season opener away at FC Tokyo on February 27.