Captain Makoto Hasebe has given Japan a timely boost by declaring himself fit and ready to play the full 90 minutes in Japan's World Cup opener against Cote d'Ivoire in Recife on Saturday.
Hasebe has only recently returned to action after suffering a serious knee injury. He did not feature in Japan's last two warm-ups for the finals against Costa Rica and Zambia at the team's training camp in Florida and has been working to regain fitness.
But the Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder, speaking after Wednesday's training session said, "There is no problem (with the knee) and I have been taking part in full training.
"Obviously it is the coach that decides (whether I will play or not on Saturday) but I am ready to go."
Hasebe and Stuttgart defender Gotoku Sakai had been the only real injury concerns for coach Alberto Zaccheroni at the training camp but the Italian now has a fully fit squad to choose from against the Ivorians in the Group C clash.