Urawa Reds announced that striker Naoki Ishihara underwent surgery to repair damage to his right anterior cruciate ligament on Thursday

The 30-year-old, who picked up the injury during the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League match against Kawasaki Frontale on 12th April, is expected to require six months of recovery.

Ishihara had appeared in four of the Reds’ five opening league matches before that, though he is yet to open his scoring account with the leaders.

The Gunma native joined Mihailo Petrovic’s side in the off-season from Sanfrecce Hiroshima, where he scored 10 goals in 2014.