South Korean midfielder Lee Chung-yong has been dropped from his English Premier League club's preseason tour in Hong Kong due to injury.
Lee will not join Crystal Palace at the Premier League Asia Trophy friendly tournament, which also features Liverpool, Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion, according to London-based newspaper the Croydon Advertiser on Tuesday (Seoul time). It reported that Lee and his teammate James McArthur are not with the team in Hong Kong because they have picked up injuries in training, without giving further details on their injury status.
In this file photo taken on June 6, 2017, South Korean midfielder Lee Chung-yong speaks to reporters before the national football team's training in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. (Yonhap)
Lee, who joined the Eagles in 2015, is coming off a mediocre season, playing only 464 minutes in 15 league matches. He mainly featured as a second-half substitute last season and had only one assist.
The preseason tour was seen as a good opportunity for Lee to make an impression on new manager Frank De Boer and earn his spot. Lee was linked with a move to a new club last season, but decided to stay with the Eagles. He is contracted with the London club through June 2018.
It's still unclear whether Lee will get the nod for South Korea next month, given his unstable status with the club. The 29-year-old has eight goals in 76 matches for South Korea.
The Taeguk Warriors, now managed by Shin Tae-yong, will host Iran on Aug. 31 and face Uzbekistan on the road five days later to close out the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. (Yonhap)
