Soccer-Japan's Yoshida will recover for World Cup, say Saints

March 27 (Reuters) - Southampton's Japan defender Maya Yoshida will recover from his knee injury in time for this year's World Cup but will miss the rest of the Premier League season, his club manager Mauricio Pochettino said on Thursday. "He will be out for six or seven weeks but his participation in the World Cup will not be threatened," Pochettino said on the Southampton website (www.saintsfc.co.uk). "It will be difficult for him to play in the last six weeks of this season," the Argentine added. The 25-year-old central defender, who joined Southampton from Dutch side VVV Venlo on a three-year deal in August 2012, suffered a knee ligament injury in training. "I actually went through a similar situation in a World Cup and I had a similar injury to his but I recovered a month before and was able to take part in the World Cup," said Pochettino. "He has started working already this week so he shouldn't miss any training sessions and the staff and all of us are going to help him so that he is back to his best as soon as possible." Former Nagoya Grampus centre back Yoshida, who has 35 caps, captained Japan at the 2012 London Olympic Games. (Writing by Ken Ferris; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)