Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min issued an update on his fitness after suffering an injury scare while on international duty for South Korea.
The South Koreans were playing their first qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup against Singapore and Son curled home a stunning left-footed strike during the comfortable 5-0 win.
But more concerningly, he also needed treatment after sustaining a nasty knock to his right knee late in the second half, as he went down in pain.
The South Korean skipper did finish out the game and played down the severity of the issue when talking to reporters after the match.
“We are making a team for the World Cup, I can’t give up a game just because I feel pain,” said Son. “If I can’t run anymore, then I can’t do anything about it but when I can run, I have to give 100 per cent for the team.
“I am fine now, I don’t like to lie down [on the pitch] in the winter. At that moment [when he went down] I couldn’t feel anything on my foot. I’m fine, no injury.”
He added: “I am not the only one hurting out there. Everyone plays with some bumps and bruises.”
There was concern from South Korea and Spurs fans when Son went down injured— (REUTERS)
South Korea are looking to qualify for an 11th straight World Cup and take on China in Shenzhen on Tuesday.
Singapore took a ‘park the bus’ approach to the Asian qualifying opener, consistently setting up with 10 men behind the ball in Seoul but the favourites systematically broke them down over the course of 90 minutes.
And South Korea coach Jurgen Klinsmann was particularly impressed with the creativity of Paris Saint-Germain playmaker Lee Kang-in to help defeat the minnows.
“When you play teams that play against you very defensively, you need creativity,” Klinsmann told reporters, according to the Yonhap News Agency.
“You need players that can cross the balls in, you need runs into the box, you need fast passing, high tempo and getting balls if possible behind the backline if there’s a little bit of space.
“Kang-in can play these balls. He can score himself. The growth of Kang-in over the last six months is a joy for us as coaches.”
Klinsmann also praised Lee for tracking back, adding: “We coaches try to teach him that it always goes both ways, Luis Enrique at Paris Saint-Germain does the same thing.
“It’s fantastic for Korean football and the national team to have a player like him to go to a completely new level.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
