Football: Ex-Celtic star Nakamura goes under knife

TOKYO - Former Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura, the J-League's most valuable player last season, was released from hospital Wednesday after undergoing surgery to remove his gallbladder, his club Yokohama Marinos said.

The surgery took place at a hospital in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on Monday and the 35-year-old midfielder may require three weeks to recuperate, the club said in a press release.

Nakamura, who returned to Yokohama after playing for Reggina, Celtic and Espanol between 2002 and 2010, was diagnosed with inflammation of the gallbladder caused by gallstones when he was taken ill last November.

He had waited for the J-League first division's shutdown during the World Cup before undergoing the operation.

The deadball specialist, who scored 29 goals in the 128 games he played for Celtic from 2005-2009, retired from international duty after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.