Can't Son Heung-min get over the years after all.
Tottenham will play the second leg of the Europa League (UEL) quarterfinals at 4 a.m. on the 18th (Korea time) at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2024-2025 season. Tottenham drew 1-1 at home in the first leg.
Son Heung-min will not be able to play. Tottenham manager Enze Postecoglou said, `Son Heung-min did not come with me. He's the only player who couldn't come with him. He has been suffering from a foot injury for weeks. There is pain.'
Son Heung-min's recovery from a foot injury seems to have been less easy than expected. It is already the third injury of the season and the most injured season in Son Heung-min's career. In fact, Son Heung-min has been injured almost every season since his transfer to Tottenham. It's not because Son Heung-min has a glass body, but because he's been overworked. He has played almost every game since he took the lead at Tottenham, and always had to risk long-distance travel for the national team during the A-match period.
This is because it was a dream for Son to become a member of the national team. Son Heung-min said during the A-match call-up in March that `I think the national team is always a dream place. Every time I come, I keep my mind unchanged. I have the idea that I have to do well. Playing in the Premier League is my childhood dream, but playing for my country is bigger than my dream. The national team is such a precious position to me. I will do my best to do well.'
However, it is now a season that proves that Son Heung-min also needs management unconditionally. Last September, his first injury of the season was a hamstring. Son Heung-min, who had been absent for about a month, seemed to show off his strong performance in his return match, but his injury recurred immediately and he had no choice but to take another month off. Son Heung-min, who often had hamstring injuries, but it was the first time since Tottenham's transfer that it recurred in such a short period of time.
Given Postecoglou's remarks, he does not seem to have been injured against Frankfurt. Postecoglou said, `For weeks Son Heung-min has been suffering from foot problems. I was getting over it, but I've been really sick for the past few days", he explained.
Since Son Heung-min is in his mid-30s, the pace of injury recovery is not as fast as it was in his 20s. In the end, Postecoglou was unable to bring Son Heung-min in this season's most important game.
It is said every time Son Heung-min is overworked, but it seems that he has entered a period where he has no choice but to manage it. Each player has a different case, but Korean soccer has experienced sending legendary players away quickly. Several players, including Park Ji-sung and Ki Sung-yueng, retired from the national team in their early 30s. Each reason was slightly different, but in the end, the decisions were made because the body couldn't hold out.
Only the player himself knows how long Son Heung-min will play as an active player in the future, but there will be no place where he is healthy. This is because he struggled hard while playing 133 A matches. In order to go to the 2026 World Cup and 2027 Asian Cup, which Son Heung-min needs, he must manage the players well for the rest of the year.
Reporter Kim Dae-sik rlaeotlr2024@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
