By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
After colliding with a teammate in practice Tuesday, Middlesbrough forward Lee Dong-gook complained of pain in his surgically-repaired knee and asked Korean national football team coach Pim Verbeek to pull him from practice.
However, it seems that the problem was in Lee's head, not in his leg, as the player once called by his legion of fans the ``Lion King'' is suffering from eroded confidence stemming from a career derailed by injuries.
Doctors cleared the 28-year-old striker for practice Wednesday after finding just a slight bruise on his knee, much to the relief of Verbeek who is taking a squad severely hit by injuries to next month's Asian Cup.
You can't blame Lee for being cautious about his health, as he has yet to fully recover from a knee injury that caused him to miss the World Cup tournament in Germany last year.
He played sporadically for Middlesbrough last season and may only be used in bit-part roles next season with the club acquiring quality attackers Tuncay Sanli and Jeremie Aliadiere.
Although Verbeek hopes Lee will serve as the target man in his offense, playing the grueling role of lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation, the Middlesbrough striker expressed reluctance in pushing himself to the limit in the regional tournament.
``The Asian Cup is an important tournament but I don't think that my playing through pain will help the team in anyway. I can't afford to do that as I have to prepare for the next Premiership season,'' Lee said before heading to the hospital on Tuesday. In an earlier interview, Lee admitted that fear of injury is affecting his play on the field.