Park Ji-sung Returning from Injury to Manchester United

Park Ji-sung will make his return to action for Manchester United shortly.

Park had suffered a right knee injury against the Blackburn Rovers on March 31. The 26-year-old midfielder will play against Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday in the 2007-08 England Premier League season, according to the MU homepage.

Park confidently said in a recent interview with Manchester official website, “I will focus on making a goal on my return. I think I will be able to gain confidence when I make goals in two or three games. I have no fear of injury or pain. I am penciled in with the first team, and I have no pain.”

The South Korean star will make his comeback in January next year. If he comes back on December 23, it will reflect that his knee injury is recovering quickly.

Park wanted to check his condition in a second-team game, but did not because a series of matches were cancelled due to the weather and the conditions of stadiums. For that reason, Park is expected to play as an exchange player rather than a full-time one.

Even if he cannot play on Sunday, he will not return too late. United will have four matches in 10 days, against Everton, Sunderland on December 26, West Ham on December 29, and Birmingham on January 1. Because the team needs plenty of exchange players, Park is likely to play just to check out his condition. If he fits, he could play full time.

Manchester United, ranked second in the league (12W 3D 2L 39 points), is closely chasing Arsenal (12W 4D 1L 40 points), trailing by one point. Depending on the year-end matches, United can retake the first place with a win. Its first rival, Everton (9W 3D 5L 30 points), is in sixth place in the league rankings.

Lee Chun-soo, 26, who went back to Feyenoord of the Netherlands after visiting Korea during the season, will also play in a match against NEC Nijmegen soon.

bluesky@donga.com