Son Heung-min is expected to miss Tottenham’s Premier League clash against Brighton this weekend after being dropped from South Korea’s squad due to a hamstring injury.
The Spurs captain was forced off in the second half of the 3-0 win against Qarabag FK in the Europa League last Thursday.
Son subsequently missed Spurs’ 3-0 victory away to Manchester United in the Premier League last Sunday and did not travel with the squad to Hungary for their 2-1 win against Ferencvaros last night.
Ange Postecoglou is yet to confirm whether Son will be available to feature against Brighton on Sunday and said before the win against Ferencvaros that the 32-year-old had remained in London for ‘rehab’.
However, South Korea have since announced that Son will not be called up for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Jordan and Iran during the international break next week.
A statement from the South Korean FA on Friday read: ‘We have decided that Son Heung-min, who injured his left thigh, needs rest.
‘We have decided to exclude him from the national team squad for the sake of protecting the player.’
Speaking before his injury, Son had raised concerns over the congested fixture schedule that players are now faced with.
‘You don’t want to see players struggling with injuries. No one wants to see it,’ said Son.
‘A lot of games, a lot of traveling. We’ve got to look after ourselves, which sometimes is very hard. Mentally, physically, you’re not ready. Then going on to the pitch and then the risk of injury is massive. We’re not robots.’
Destiny Udogie also missed Spurs’ latest win in the Europa League on Thursday after he was forced off at half time against Manchester United last Sunday.
Since their defeat to Arsenal in the north London derby on September 15, Spurs have won their last five games in all competitions.
.
.