Premier League Footballer's Inattentive Driving Leads to Cyclist Collision

The Brighton winger missed the World Cup after sustaining an injury in an English Premier League match less than a week before Japan's squad announcement. According to his management, he was involved in a collision with a cyclist on Wednesday morning. The cyclist was taken for medical examination, which revealed bruising. Mitoma sustained no injuries in the incident.

The management company stated that the accident occurred due to the player's insufficient attention to the situation in front of his vehicle. "Immediately after the accident, he checked on the injured person's condition and followed the instructions of the police officers who arrived at the scene. We would like to express our deepest and most sincere regret to the person injured in the accident, as well as to everyone affected by the incident. Mr. Mitoma takes this accident very seriously and feels deep remorse and apologizes to the injured person," the statement added, according to AFP.

Local police declined to comment on the case. According to Kyodo News and other media outlets, there is suspicion that the 29-year-old Mitoma ran a red light.