Son Heung-min undergoes surgery for facial fracture

Son Heung-min suffered four fractures to his eye socket, with surgery brought forward one to two days to Friday as the South Korean captain tries to keep alive his hopes of competing at the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

The Telegraph reported that the Tottenham Hotspur forward had suffered four fractures to his eye socket. He was originally scheduled for his operation over the weekend, but the procedure has been moved to Friday, giving him an extra day to recover ahead of Korea’s opening match of the tournament against Uruguay at 10 p.m. on Nov 24. “The situation has plunged his participation at the World Cup into serious doubt,” The Mirror said. “In an effort to boost his hopes of participating in the tournament, the Spurs have brought forward Son’s surgery.”

Son went down after colliding with an opposing defender during a Tuesday UEFA Champions League match at Marseille. He had to leave the field of play during the first half and was replaced by another player. Some expected the injury would not be that serious as a photo of Son smiling with his teammates was out after the match. However, Tottenham announced on Thursday that he needs surgery.

The Telegraph reported that Son will not know whether his World Cup hopes are over until after surgery. But he is almost certain to miss the remaining three matches before players depart for the Gulf State. Spurs face Liverpool on November 7 in the Premier League and Leeds United on November 13, with an EFL Cup tie at Nottingham Forest on November 10.


Dong-Wook Kim creating@donga.com