Son Heung-min insists he was intent on playing in South Korea’s friendly against Vietnam on Tuesday despite ’s injury concerns.
The 31-year-old sat on the bench for South Korea’s 4-0 win against Tunisia last Friday but completed a full 90 minutes and scored in a 6-0 victory over Vietnam in Suwon.
South Korea’s medical staff revealed that Son was nursing a groin injury after he reported for international duty last week, and during the closing stages of the friendly against Vietnam, the Spurs captain showed clear signs of discomfort on the pitch.
However, he was left on the pitch for the remainder of the game by South Korea’s head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who is adamant that the forward has not aggravated the injury.
When asked about his injury after South Korea’s win, Son said: ‘Injuries are an inevitable part of living as a footballer.
‘I was worried about whether to play in today’s game, but I couldn’t accept coming to Korea and not playing in front of the fans.
‘I discussed with the coach and told him I would play in the game.
‘I couldn’t participate much in training, but I’m grateful to the coach for respecting my decision.’
Speaking about his decision to keep Son on the pitch, Klinsmann said: ‘The original plan was to play 90 minutes.
‘The muscle injury did not recur, and there was no problem when checked at the 60th minute.’
Son will now travel back to London ahead of Spurs’ Premier League clash against Fulham next Monday.
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