‘Captain’ Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) has been ruled out of the South Korean national team after all.
National team coach Hong Myung-bo has decided to withdraw Son Heung-min from the two October A matches out of player protection due to a hamstring (back thigh muscle) injury. The Korea Football Association announced on Thursday that “Son Heung-min was deemed to need rest due to a left thigh injury, so it was decided to exclude him from the October call-up for player protection.” In his place, Hong Hyun-seok (Mainz) has been named as a substitute.
On Sept. 30, Hong unveiled his 26-man squad for this month’s two A-Match series at Seoul’s Shinmunro Football Hall. South Korea will face Jordan at the International Stadium in Amman, Jordan, on Sept. 10 at 11 p.m. KST in the third Group B match of the 2026 North and Central American World Cup Asia qualifiers, before returning home by chartered flight to face Iraq at Mir Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. KST.
However, Son Heung-min is a question mark: He went down in the first leg of the 2024-2025 Europa League (UEL) League Phase against Qarabag (Azerbaijan) on March 26.
He was in discomfort early in the second half, touching his hamstring (back thigh muscle).
Tottenham were clinging to a precarious 1-0 lead despite being outshot 11-10.
Son seemed to be playing through the pain, only coming off the field after Dominic Solanke’s wedge. Solanke’s goal was also set up by Son. His sharp right-footed shot deflected off the opposing goalkeeper and into the path of Solanke, who quickly ran onto it and slotted it home.
Son was replaced by Timo Werner in the 26th minute of the second half. He did not sit on the bench but went straight to the locker room for treatment.
Son missed the first leg of the English Premier League (EPL) 카지노사이트 sixth round tie against Manchester United on Oct. 30. Tottenham won 2-1 in the second leg of the UEL League Phase against Ferencvarosi on April 4 at the Gruppama Arena in Budapest, Hungary. Son did not travel with the team to Hungary as he continues to recover, missing his second consecutive game.
The hamstring injury can be aggravated by overdoing it.
Hong invited Son Heung-min aboard, but already prioritized player protection.
“I communicated directly with Son Heung-min. What he feels now is that he’s getting better. I don’t think he’s in a position to play right now, but we’ll see if he’ll be able to play in future games,” he said, adding, ”The most important thing is that he’s going to be in good shape, physically. And if we go to the knockout stages, he’s important for us in terms of our performance in the knockout stages. In that regard, the club, the player himself, our association and the team will communicate well and find a way to do well without pushing him too hard,” he said.
He added, “I think Son Heung-min himself will want to play even if it’s difficult. Many people may wish that, but we don’t want to push him in that way and make him suffer. We have a Plan B in case it doesn’t work out.” ”There are many players who can play in Son’s position. Hwang Hee-chan, Bae Joon-ho, Lee Jae-sung, all of them can play. Of course, I don’t know how it will affect other areas if Son Heung-min doesn’t play, but I think we have enough substitutes in that position.”
Hong reportedly communicated directly with Son Heung-min during the final call-up process.
Son’s absence is an ’emergency’, but it is unavoidable. We have to hope for a ‘Plan B’.
South Korea have won nine, drawn two and lost two of their 13 A matches since the start of Paulo Bento’s reign with Son Heung-min sidelined with hamstring, calf, orbital fracture and hernia injuries. The only losses were to Japan and Peru. In the Asian qualifiers, they’ll have to do without Son Heung-min.
Hong Myung-baek will be called up on Saturday night and will leave immediately, while Overseas will travel directly to Jordan.
Leave a Reply