It is feared that Son Heung-min's hamstring injury will be prolonged. It doesn't seem to be in a state enough to consider inputting the game yet.
Tottenham Hotspur will play Brighton in the seventh round of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2024-2025 season at 0:30 a.m. on the 7th (Korea Standard Time) at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton, England.
Son Heung-min will not be able to be seen in this game either. This is because he has not fully recovered from his hamstring injury.
The biggest enemy for wingers whose speed is a weapon like Son Heung-min is a muscle injury. Among them, hamstring injuries are the most representative. Hamstrings are muscles that increase the maximum speed, control the speed, and play an important role in changing directions when a player runs. Son Heung-min, one of the players with the most sprints in the stadium, has to manage his hamstring muscles very well.
Since Son Heung-min is not a free-body player from the beginning, his hamstring muscles have not often been a problem. Son Heung-min suffered a hamstring injury for the first time in September 2020. Hamstring injuries require recovery for two to three weeks at the most. In some cases, if the injury is serious, it may take more than two months off..
At that time, however, Son Heung-min returned after a whopping nine days and recovered quickly enough to play. Son Heung-min also said he was surprised by the quick return, saying, `A magic happened to my hamstring.' The second hamstring injury was in March 2021. Son Heung-min returned after a three-week break.
The third hamstring injury was in January 2022. At that time, Son Heung-min took four weeks off due to injury. The hamstring, which had not been problematic for two years, caused trouble again after about two years and eight months. The frequency of hamstring injuries is not worrisome, but the fact that the rehabilitation period is getting longer is worrisome. Son Heung-min is not young as a soccer player, so the recovery speed of his body is bound to be longer and longer.
As much as the speed of rehabilitation is prolonged, the injury area is of concern. All of Son Heung-min's hamstring injuries so far have been left. Son Heung-min felt a problem with his left hamstring again this time. If the same area is repeatedly problematic, it can become like a chronic disease, so more special management is needed.
In fact, it didn't seem to be a serious injury at first. However, as time goes by, the injury does not seem to be light. In the match against Caravac FK, where Son Heung-min was injured, coach Enze Postecoglou felt tired from his hamstring after the match. We have to wait and see whether it is an injury or just fatigue,' he said, as if Son Heung-min's injury, which he walked out of the game, was not severe.
Ahead of the match against Manchester United, Postecoglou said, "(Son Heung-min is not in a bad condition, and he wants to train as well."He talked as if the player was recovering quickly from his injury. Unfortunately, Son Heung-min's injury did not improve enough to be unable to accompany him on the away trip to Manchester.
In the last match against Ferencvaros, Son Heung-min remained in London, England, for rehabilitation and recovery, and was not accompanied on an away trip to Hungary. He missed two consecutive games. Since then, there has been only bad news regarding the injury.
If it wasn't for the big injury, Son Heung-min would have recovered quickly and joined the South Korean A team for the A-match in October after the match against Brighton. Coach Hong Myung-bo also said he decided to call up the players after communicating directly with Son Heung-min.
However, the Korea Football Association said on the 4th that Son Heung-min needed rest due to an injury to his left thigh, so the final decision was made to exclude him from the October call-up to protect the players.
The news added to this is that Son Heung-min is still far from recovering enough to play. Ahead of the match against Brighton, Postecoglou said, `Son Heung-min is unlikely to play. I'm working hard, but under the current situation, the progress is not fast enough to put Son Heung-min in it.
It may be that his condition has not improved because he has only been injured for a week, but looking at Postecoglou's answer alone, I am concerned that Son Heung-min's injury will be prolonged.
It would be fortunate if Son Heung-min recovers within the A-match in October, but if he fails to return to the home game against West Ham United, which is his first game since the A-match schedule, he will be absent for a long time. If he fails to return to the UEFA Europa League (UEL) match against AZ Alkmaar, who will meet after West Ham, he will remain the most serious hamstring injury of Son Heung-min's career. This is a scenario that not everyone wants.
Recently, voices for player protection have been rising amid a tight schedule. Son Heung-min also publicly asked for player protection earlier. If you want to see Son Heung-min play at the highest level for a longer time, you should pay more attention to player protection and management.
rlaeotlr2024@sportschosun.com
