'Sadly, 32 years old, I can't cheat the years' Son Heung-min collapsed again, it's hard to play against Crystal Palace...POSTECH Director "Not 100% yet, I haven't even trained"

Oct 26, 2024

Do you realize the weight of time. Son Heung-min (Tottenham) is in a serious condition. Tottenham will play Crystal Palace in the ninth round of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2024-2025 season at Selhurst Park in London on the 27th (Korea time). Coach Enze Postecoglou spoke about Son's condition at a press conference before the game on the 25th. He said "All the players who played against Alkmaar in the Europa League are fine. I'm a little tired, but there are no injured players" Son Heung-min's physical condition is not 100%. Team training will not be held on the 25th. He can't play in weekend games either. We have to wait and see how it progresses from now on."

Does he realize the weight of time. Son Heung-min (Tottenham) is in a serious condition.

Tottenham will play Crystal Palace in the ninth round of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2024-2025 season at Selhurst Park in London on the 27th (Korea time). Tottenham changed the mood with a big win against West Ham. He jumped to seventh place with 13 points. If you catch Crystal Palace, which has fallen to 18th place, you can move up the rankings even further. It is an important game to leap to the top.

However, it is difficult for Son Heung-min to play. Coach Enze Postecoglou spoke about Son's condition at a press conference before the game on the 25th. He said "All the players who played against Alkmaar in the Europa League are fine. I'm a little tired, but there are no injured players" Son Heung-min's physical condition is not 100%. Team training will not be held on the 25th. He can't play in weekend games either. We have to wait and see how it progresses from now on."

It's shocking news. Son Heung-min also failed to play against Alkmaar on the 25th. Postecoglou said in an official press conference after the public training session that `Son Heung-min was a little sick after the weekend match. Son Heung-min was not going to play anyway. Because Son Heung-min was a little absent. So I'm not going to let Son play tomorrow, I'm going to wait and see what the situation will be like." Tottenham won 1-0 with Hishalisson's return goal in Son Heung-min's absence. Tottenham appeared to be preparing for the weekend league game by excluding a large number of key players.

Son Heung-min's physical condition looks more serious than expected as he will be absent until the match against Crystal Palace. Son Heung-min was called the 'steel king'. Since joining the team in 2015, he has never suffered a major injury except for an orbital fracture. Hamstring injuries were relatively frequent due to the explosive main weapon, but he has always shown off his resilience beyond expectations. After returning, he showed no signs of shaking. But this time it's different.

The start was Karabakh FK's Europa League match on the 27th of last month. Son Heung-min started in the match, but he felt an abnormality in his right thigh and was replaced in the 23rd minute of the second half. After the game, both Son Heung-min and Postecoglou said it was not a big problem, but the situation was not. Son Heung-min missed all the following matches against Manchester United, Ferencvaros and Brighton. He did not even join the national team during the A-match period in October. Originally, he was listed on the Hong Myung-bo team, but coach Hong Myung-bo removed his name from the list to protect the players.

Before the match against Manchester United, Postecoglou also said, `Everything is fine except for Son Heung-min. I don't think Son Heung-min is that bad. I'll see how he goes in training and make a decision from there,' but the injury was longer than expected. It was the first time Son Heung-min left the team for such a long time since November 2022, when he was out due to an orbital fracture injury. Even the national team was excluded, and the voices of concern became louder.

Fortunately, he crossed the A-match and recovered quickly. Son Heung-min is reportedly close to returning in person on the 13th. He posted a message on his social media, 'Back soon'(going back soon)', interposing a photo of him wearing a sweat suit and sneakers. Tottenham fans also cheered the post, saying they could not wait. Dr. Rajpal Bra, a V-Sang expert, also said, `Son Heung-min does not appear to be seriously injured. I think I will return after the A match period. But the important thing is how he looks in his training. You have to pass the physical test, and it's up to him to play full time."

Coach Postecoglou said in a club interview on the 17th that Son Heung-min will return from the match against West Ham. He said, `Son Heung-min and Hisalysong were good. I trained with my colleagues. It's really positive news for us. Son Heung-min will be ready because he spent this A-match break really well. "I hope both players will be able to participate in the weekend game because the Hisalysong was also good."

Tottenham also released a video of Son Heung-min training with his teammates on its official YouTube channel. Son Heung-min, who appeared at the gym first, seemed to be in a light physical condition. Son Heung-min went to the training ground laughing with his teammates. On the 18th, he released photos of players who returned to the club to participate in training after the A-match period, and posted photos of Son Heung-min smiling in plain clothes.

Coach Postecoglou announced Son Heung-min's return at an official press conference against West Ham. Postecoglou said, `Son Heung-min is in good shape,' adding, `He has trained hard for the past two weeks. I regret not being able to play in the national team, but two weeks was a good time." Then "I had a solid training session. Now I'm ready to get back on the field. to be able to participate" he confirmed.

Son Heung-min, who returned, had a return match that couldn't have been better. Son Heung-min, who started on the left wing, played on the ground for 70 minutes, and succeeded in inducing one goal and one starting point and one earned goal. In fact, he made three goals. Son Heung-min, who preheated his senses with a unique winding kick in the 15th minute of the first half, served as the starting point for the winning goal in the 6th minute of the second half when the score was 1-1. Son Heung-min stabbed an exquisite pass to Destiny Udo-gi, who was digging in. Yves Bissouma finished Udo-gi's cutback. In the 9th minute, Dejan Kulusevski took a pass and fired, which went in after being hit by the goalkeeper and the opposing defender Jean-Claire Todibo. It was recorded as an own goal by goalkeeper Alfonce Areola.

Son Heung-min, who unfortunately missed his return goal, opened the West Ham goal in the 14th minute. After beating the defender in a counterattack, he shook the net with a powerful left-footed shot. his third goal of the season. Son Heung-min tied for 19th in EPL history with 123 goals from Raheem Sterling and Dwight Yorke. Son Heung-min came out after replacing Timo Werner in a standing ovation in the 25th minute of the second half.

He played on the ground for 70 minutes, and succeeded in inducing one goal and one starting point and one earned goal. In fact, he made three goals. Son made 43 touches on the day. He made 26 passes, showing an 84% pass success rate. Two chances were created, and two of the four shots were headed to the net. He also made one dribble. In 20 games against West Ham, he scored nine goals and seven assists, showing a natural enemy. Son Heung-min became the official MOM (Man of the Match) after the game with 51.9% of the vote. The highest rating was also Son Heung-min's. After scoring mechanical ratings, Scored Dotcom, Footmob, and SofaScore gave the highest ratings in the team with 8.34, 8.4, and 8.0 points. Football London also gave a thumbs up, giving them a top nine points.

However, he has not been able to continue his upward trend due to injuries. Immediately after the match against West Ham, Son Heung-min unprecedentedly revealed his inner feelings. At the time, he told the broadcast channel "Sadly, he is 32 years old. I know that every game is a showdown that I really want to take seriously. "I know that the game will not come back. So I'm playing all the games seriously. I want to treat it like it's my last game of my career" he said. It was a remark as if he had an intuition of his situation.

For now, it doesn't seem to be a long-term injury. As Son Heung-min is so sincere and recovering quickly, the absence is not expected to be long. However, it is expected to be at a disadvantage in the renewal of the contract, which has not been concluded continuously. Son Heung-min's contract with Tottenham expires in the summer of 2025. Contrary to the initial expectation that the contract will be renewed quickly, negotiations are sluggish. There is only talk that Tottenham will implement the one-year extension option they signed at the time of the last renewal. Fans are complaining about the harsh treatment of Son Heung-min 'captain' and 'legend', but Tottenham has not made any moves yet.

With the situation like this, rumors of a transfer are coming out. In recent years, it has been steadily connected to big Spanish clubs, including Saudi Arabia, which has shown keen interest over the past few years. Prior to the Barcelona transfer rumors, Atletico Madrid transfer rumors arose. On the 16th, there were even reports that Tottenham was looking for a replacement for Son Heung-min.

However, Son Heung-min's trip to Barcelona is not realistic. First of all, it is known that the report of 'Catalunya Radio', the beginning of the transfer rumor, is fictional. The so-called 'brain official' posted by a fan on social media spread with the news of 'Catalunya Radio'. There are no articles about Son Heung-min on the homepage of the actual 「Catalunya Radio」. Son Heung-min also seems to prioritize renewing his contract over new challenges.

Son Heung-min is preparing to return to the league with the goal of a League Cup match against Manchester City or an away match against Aston Valley on the 31st.

vanbasten@sportschosun.com