Lee Zii Jia looks set to delay his return to competitive action after the men’s singles shuttler was listed as ‘withdrawn’ from the Kumamoto Masters in Japan.

Lee’s withdrawal comes as the latest setback for the 27-year-old, who chose to skip the European competitions due to a back injury which he suffered at the China Masters in September.

In that match against Lin Chun-yi, Lee withdrew in the third game and subsequently missed over a month of badminton action at the Denmark Open, French Open and Hylo Open.

Before he returned from a long ankle injury layoff at the World Championships, Lee was absent for five months having last played at the All-England in March.

In total, Lee has only played in five tournaments this year and suffered four first-round exits.

As a result, the Kedah-born has now dropped to 63 on the world rankings.

With his latest withdrawal, Lee only has two events left to participate this year which is the Australian Open and Syed Modi International happening later this month.

Besides Lee, there are a host of top-class shuttlers who have also withdrawn from the Super 500 Kumamoto Masters including Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen as well as Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting.