Son Heung-min can look to Kevin De Bruyne for inspiration with his World Cup hopes hanging by a thread after he picked up an injury this week.
The Tottenham star was forced off in Tuesday's late win over Marseille before half-time after suffering a serious head knock. Son was contesting a header but came off second best and eventually had to be helped off the pitch at the Stade Velodrome.
It transpired that the South Korean had suffered a fracture around his left eye with Tottenham confirming he would undergo surgery and will then begin rehabilitation. Son had hoped to lead his country and play in the World Cup in a matter of weeks, but that dream could now be over.
That said, swift recoveries from such injuries are not uncommon. Kevin De Bruyne was dealing with a similar situation last summer, shortly before Euro 2020 was due to commence. The Manchester City star, a leading light for his country, Belgium, was forced off in the Champions League final on May 29.
The Belgian clashed with Antonio Rudiger and suffered the same injury that Son is currently dealing with. De Bruyne missed out on his country's opening game against Russia, but returned and scored in their win over Denmark - just 19 days after picking up his injury.
Son has slightly longer to recover - there are 24 days between him picking up the injury in France and South Korea facing Uruguay in their World Cup opener, which could prove to be a major boost for last season's Premier League Golden Boot winner.
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South Korea then face Ghana four days after their opening game and finish their group campaign with a clash against Portugal on December 2. Countries must name their final squads by November 13 with Son hoping to be picked by coach Paulo Bento.
The Asian nation have very much been World Cup regulars, but haven't made it out of the group since 2010, when they were beaten in the last-16 by Uruguay.
Jamie Carragher lamented the placement of the World Cup midway through the campaign as he took aim at Qatar. He said on CBS Sports : "I think it's an absolute disgrace that the World Cup is in the position that it's in. "For lots of reasons. I think that it was corrupt that Qatar were given the World Cup, and we knew at the time when they campaigned on having it in the summer, it was impossible to have a World Cup in the summer due to the temperature.
"It gets moved to the situation where it is now in the middle of the season, and players who spend their whole lives dreaming of playing in the World Cup as we see with Son. A ten day injury is going to keep players out of the World Cup, which should not be happening, and it all started with FIFA giving them the World Cup in the first place."
