Uchida to miss Japan's upcoming 2014 Fifa World Cup

Schalke contacted the Japan Football Assocation to inform them of the injury, indicating that it could take up to three weeks to heal. Uchida will also miss a Europa League tie.Schalke defender Atsuto Uchida will miss at least two or three weeks of play with a right hamstring injury, according to team officials. The injury came in practice on September 27 as his team was preparing to host Maccabi Haifa in Thursday's Europa League match.On Thursday, the team sent a communication to the Japan Football Association (JFA) detailing the injury and excusing Uchida from participation in the upcoming international schedule.Uchida was an expected call-up for Alberto Zaccheroni's Japan squad, who are scheduled to play Vietnam in a friendly on October 7 before welcoming Tajikistan in a World Cup qualifier on October 11. The JFA is set to announce their roster on Thursday.Should the injury heal as expected, Uchida should be on track to participate in Japan's November qualifying schedule when they travel to Tajikistan and North Korea.He has shown good form recently, chalking up an assist in Schalke's 4-2 win against Bundesliga side Freiburg last weekend. The club announced this week that Dutch manager Huub Stevens would take over the squad from a caretaker after the shock departure of Ralf Rangnick for health reasons.