Vegalta Sendai on Sunday announced a severe injury to Naoki Sugai that could rule the midfielder out for up to two months.
The 31-year-old is expected to miss eight weeks after sustaining ligament damage to his right knee.
Sugai has represented Vegalta for his entire professional career since 2003, amassing over 350 J1 and J2 League appearances.
However, the Miyagi native has played in just one 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League match in a campaign that sees his team sit 15th in the table.