Son Heung-min of Korea celebrates after scoring against Oman during the teams' Group B match in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualification at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat on Sept. 10. (Yonhap)
South Korea captain Son Heung-min will not play in two World Cup qualifying matches later this month due to a left hamstring injury, the national football federation announced Friday.
The Korea Football Association said the national team staff had decided to drop Son from the 26-man squad to "protect the player's health," after Son sustained his injury during a UEFA Europa League match for Tottenham Hotspur against Qarabag on Sept. 26 in London.
Son has since missed two matches -- a Premier League contest against Manchester United and another Europa League match against Ferencvarosi TC -- while recovering from the injury.
Mainz 05 midfielder Hong Hyun-seok was named as Son's replacement.
South Korea will face Jordan in Amman next Thursday for their third Group B match in the third round of the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Then on Oct. 15, South Korea will host Iraq.
After two matches, South Korea are in second place in the group behind Jordan.
The top two teams from each of the three groups in the third round will punch their tickets to the 2026 World Cup. South Korea have played at every World Cup since 1986.
In announcing the 26-man squad on Monday, national team head coach Hong Myung-bo said Son had told him that he had started to feel better but added that the national team staff would continue to monitor Son's condition to see if he'd be fit for his international duty.
Hong also said he had a Plan B in case Son couldn't go and other players on the team could play Son's position on either wing. The coach added he didn't want to risk further injury by forcing Son into action.
Son is third on the all-time South Korean goal scoring list with 49, nine behind the leader, Cha Bum-kun, and has collected the fourth-most caps with 129.
On the eve of the Europa League match in which he was injured, Son raised concerns over the grueling playing schedule for players today and spoke of a "massive" risk of injury.
"You don't want to see players struggling with injuries. No one wants to see it," Son said. "A lot of games, a lot of traveling. We've got to look after ourselves, which sometimes is very hard. Mentally, physically, you're not ready. Then going on to the pitch and then the risk of injury is massive. We're not robots." (Yonhap)
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