Son Heung-min has been pictured training wearing a protective face mask as he continues to recover from the horrific eye injury which threatened his participation at the Qatar World Cup.
The Tottenham star was included in South Korea's squad after learning his injury would not force him out of the tournament, but it is likely Son will be sporting the mask in his country's group fixtures should he take part. Son suffered four fractures to his eye socket after clashing heads with Marseille defender Chancel Mbemba on November 1.
Spurs' forward fractured his orbital bone in the collision during the Champions League encounter and it was initially feared it would rule him out of the World Cup, but he now looks on course to feature in Korea's opening game against Uruguay on November 24 having undergone successful surgery.
Son was seen smiling as he trained with his international team-mates in Doha on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters after the session, as reported by Naver, Son said: "I don't think it was bad because the mask was more comfortable than I thought.
"In fact, it was a little different from when I used it in England. It was more comfortable. Except for sweating a lot because the weather was hot, there was no big difference.
"The reason I keep touching the mask is because the shape of my face is slightly different. Even if the swelling goes down, one day it's still swollen. I keep touching it after fitting it to my face. I was surprised that it was a lot more comfortable than I thought."
The mask was reportedly supplied by Tottenham and is believed to be made of carbon fibre - one of three which Son has taken with him to Qatar. Asked what the mask is made from, Son joked: "It's a secret... It's made of good material. It's light, hard when worn on the face, and it's a good material that can protect against impact. I was surprised that it was considerably lighter than I thought."
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He added: "There is enough margin. There is nothing to break. If it breaks, what will happen to my face? I hope it won't break, but there is enough margin, so I can use it alternately. As the shape of the face is different, while making the mask, I added a little detail. It can be different. I think you just have to look closely at what is comfortable and wear it."
While Son looks on course to feature in Korea's opening game against Uruguay, his selection is still not certain. South Korea manager Paulo Bento said after naming his squad on the weekend: "We need to analyse day-by-day his situation. We have time to decide and the most important is he recovers as well as possible, he feels comfortable and then we will take the final decision."
Korea will be desperate for their star man to be involved against Uruguay, who are arguably their strongest rivals to progress from Group H, with Portugal the favourites to win the group. After facing Uruguay, Korea meet Ghana on November 28, before finishing with the clash against Portugal on December 2.
Son revealed he had been buoyed by the messages of support from fans ahead of the tournament, writing on Instagram last week: "In a tough time I received a lot of strength from you!
"Playing for your country at the World Cup is the dream of so many children growing up, just as it was one of mine too. I can't wait to represent our beautiful country."
The Taegeuk Warriors have featured in each of the last 10 World Cups - a feat which is matched or bettered by only four of the 32 competing nations (Germany, Brazil, Spain, Argentina). Korea have failed to get beyond the group stage since 2010 however, and have not been to the latter rounds since their semi-final effort on home soil in 2002.
