Ventforet Kofu veteran Yukio Tsuchiya will miss the next six weeks, his club announced on Tuesday.
The 41-year-old defender suffered a pulled right calf muscle in Sunday’s Yamazaki Nabisco Cup match against Omiya Ardija.
Tsuchiya had appeared in all four league matches for Ventforet thus far this season.
Ventforet have begun the 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League campaign with just a single win, lying 15th in the table.