Kagawa to Miss Olympic Games

The technical director of the Japanese FA, Hiromi Hara, has handed Manchester United a boost with the news that midfielder Shinji Kagawa will not be included in the country's selection for the Olympic Games.

Kagawa, 23, is eligible for selection, but will instead join up with his new Manchester United team-mates once he has completed his medical examinations and received a work permit.

The decision has been made with Japan's World Cup qualifiers in mind, with the Japanese association hoping to give their star midfielder time to rest and undertake a full pre-season this summer.

Hara confirmed: "Kagawa is one of the leading members of the Japan national senior team and he is almost certainly going to join one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"We came to the conclusion that not giving him enough rest is not good for his future nor our final World Cup qualifiers. I talked to Kagawa directly and told him he would not be chosen.''

David de Gea is set to be part of the Spain squad, while Tom Cleverley and Chris Smalling are amongst those eligible for selection in Stuart Pearce's Team GB squad to be named in the first week of July. However, Smalling's participation would depend upon his recovery from the groin injury that ruled him out of Euro 2012.

Ferguson has already negotiated with the Mexico FA to ensure that Javier Hernandez will not be included in their squad for the games, having participated in national team encounters in June.