World Football

TOKYO, July 11 (Reuters) - Japan will contest next month's Beijing Olympic soccer tournament without any "over-age" players after midfielder Yasuhito Endo was hospitalised with a viral infection.

Teams are allowed to pick three over-age players for the Under-23 Olympic competition but Endo had been the only candidate after troubled striker Yoshito Okubo was left out.

Endo, 28, has been suffering with a high fever after an outbreak of a mystery rash and his J-League club Gamba Osaka said on Friday they could not risk sending the player to Beijing.

"Given his current health the earliest he could return to training would be around Aug 10," Gamba chairman Kikuo Kanamori told reporters.

"Of course we wanted to be able to release him because it's the Olympics but unfortunately we can't. It's a shame."

Japan coach Yasuharu Sorimachi names his squad on Monday.

Okubo, recently banned for three games after being sent off in a World Cup qualifier, had been offered an olive branch by the Japan Football Association (JFA).

But J-League club Vissel Kobe refused to release the player and the JFA agreed not to call up the controversial striker.

Sorimachi's side have been drawn alongside the Netherlands, the United States and Nigeria in Group B of the 16-team Olympic competition.

Japan last won an Olympic medal in men's soccer at the 1968 Mexico Olympics where they finished third. The last time they had no overage players at an Olympics was in Atlanta in 1996.

This year's Olympic soccer tournament takes place from Aug. 6-23.