Youth midfielder Keiya Shiihashi will miss the start of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League season with an ankle injury, his club Vegalta Sendai announced on Sunday.

The 18-year-old was diagnosed with a nonunion, or failure to heal following a bone fracture, of his right ankle on Friday at a Sendai-area hospital.

Shiihashi, who joined the club after graduating from Chiba powerhouse Funabashi High School, was named an outstanding player of the recent national high school football tournament.

Vegalta are set to open their MEIJI YASUDA J1 League campaign away at Yokohama F. Marinos on February 27.