The seven games Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham could…

The seven games Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham could be without Son Heung-min due to Asian Cup

Ange Postecoglou is going to have quite the predicament on his hands at the beginning of 2024 with the 2023 AFC Asian Cup getting underway. Following South Korea's qualification for the tournament in Qatar, Tottenham will face the prospect of losing Son Heung-min for around a month, especially if his national team go all the way to the final.

Initially pencilled in to be held in China this summer, in May 2022 it was announced that they would not host the tournament due to the Covid-19 situation in the country. Following confirmation in October that the tournament would instead be played in Qatar, dates for the 24-team competition were revealed in early April, with the Asian Cup now commencing on Friday, January 12 and drawing to a conclusion on Saturday, February 10.

South Korea have been drawn in Group E and will take on Malaysia, Jordan and Bahrain. Bahrain are their first opponents at Hassim bin Hamad Stadium on Monday, January 15.

If Jurgen Klinsmann's side do manage to proceed all the way to the final, Postecoglou and Tottenham could potentially be without their No.7 for a total of seven games. However, that will all depend on when exactly Son departs for the tournament and how the Lilywhites fare in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

If Tottenham do indeed advance to the final four of the latter competition, Son may well be absent for the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals which is pencilled in to be played on Wednesday, January 10 if South Korea want him as part of their camp in the days leading up to the tournament. Tottenham will then face Manchester United away on either the weekend of January 13 or the 20th as the round of fixtures is due to be split across two weekends in order to accommodate a mid-season break for the players.

More cup games will then come Spurs' way if they are still involved in the domestic cups as the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg is down to be played on Wednesday, January 24 and then the fourth round of the FA Cup three days later. If South Korea are to succumb to an early group exit, Son could indeed be back in time to feature against Brentford on Tuesday, January 30.

Klinsmann's team will be expected to advance and reach the latter stages of the tournament, however. If South Korea are to claim a place in the final, Son will also miss Tottenham's away trip to Everton on Saturday, February 3 and the home game against Brighton & Hove Albion one week later. While the amount of games Son could potentially miss is up in the air at present as it is all going to depend on how Tottenham and South Korea fare, the worst case scenario is that he is absent for seven matches.

As the tournament is held every four years, Tottenham were in a similar predicament back in 2019. The attacker only featured in three of his country's games as Spurs struck an agreement with the Korean Football Association.

Having released him for the Asian Games in August and September, which resulted in him missing three of Tottenham's Premier League fixtures, both parties agreed that he would miss the first two group games of the Asian Cup. Featuring in their final group fixture, Son couldn't help South Korea advance beyond the quarter-finals as they lost 1-0 to eventual winners Qatar.