the substitute bench and facing his own injury concern. Uchida then played an important role when he scored the winning goal, in a 3–2 win against Suwon Samsung Bluewings on 3 October 2018; which in the return leg, Kashima Antlers drew 3–3, resulting Kashima Antlers reaching the AFC Champions League Final for the first time. However, Uchida suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for a month. While on the sidelines, Kashima Antlers won the AFC Champions League Final against Persepolis by beating them 2–0 aggregate to win the club's first AFC Champions League trophy. On 24 November 2018, he made his return from injury, coming on as a late substitute, in a 3–0 win against Vegalta Sendai. In the FIFA Club World Cup, Uchida played three times for the side, as they finished fourth place in the tournament. At the end of the 2018 season, he went on to twenty–three appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Ahead of the 2019 season, Uchida was appointed as the new Kashima Antlers’ captain following the departure of Gen Shoji. His first match as captain came on 1 March 2019 against Kawasaki Frontale and set up an equalising goal for Sho Ito, in a 1–1 draw. He later captained three more matches between 9 March 2019 and 30 March 2019. However, during a 3–2 win against Júbilo Iwata on 30 March 2019, Uchida suffered a knee injury and was substituted that kept him out for several months. On 14 August 2019, he made his return from injury, coming on as a late substitute, in a 4–0 win against Tochigi SC in the third round of the Emperor's Cup. Since returning from injury, Uchida resumed his captaincy role despite being placed on the substitute bench in a number of matches for the rest of the 2019 season. Kashima Antlers went on to finish third place in the league. At the end of the 2019 season, he went on to make twelve appearances in all competitions. At the start of the 2020 season, Uchida appeared as an unused substitute for the AFC Champions League against Melbourne Victory on 28 January 2020, as the club lost 1–0. Shortly after, he suffered a calf injury during a friendly match against Mito HollyHock on 1 February 2020, as Kashima Antlers won 1–0. After the match, it was announced that Uchida was sidelined for four weeks. However,