Tottenham Hotspur star player Son Heung-min will have to undertake surgery to stabilise a fracture around his left eye and his involvement in the World Cup is now in doubt. The 30-year-old suffered the injury during Tottenham’s 2-1 win in Marseille in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Tottenham released a statement saying: “Following surgery, Son will commence rehabilitation with our medical staff and we shall update supporters further in due course.” South Korea’s first game in the World Cup is against Uruguay on 24 November.
Tottenham has not said when Son will have surgery and has not put a timescale on how long the former Bayer Leverkusen forward will be sidelined. Manchester City playmaker Kevin de Bruyne broke his nose and eye socket in the 2021 Champions League final but played for Belgium in the delayed 2020 European Championship 19 days later.
Son has scored 35 goals in 104 appearances for his country, which are in Group H in Qatar alongside Portugal, Ghana and Uruguay. In the more immediate future, the injury is a blow for the English Premier League side who will host Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday (16:30 GMT).