Injured defender Kim Min-jae held out of training for 2nd straight day
Kim Min-jae of Korea, left, and Darwin Nunez of Uruguay battle for the ball during their teams' Group H match at the FIFA World Cup at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, west of Doha, Nov. 24. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Korean center back Kim Min-jae missed his second straight day of training Saturday with a right calf injury, with the national team officials insisting his condition is not serious.
Kim sustained the injury during Korea's goalless draw with Uruguay in their first Group H match of the FIFA World Cup on Thursday. Kim was held out of training Friday to get some treatment and then skipped another session Saturday.
"Kim Min-jae has some lingering pains, and he stayed back in the team hotel for treatment and rest," a national team official told reporters at Al Egla Training Site in Doha.
Kim Min-jae of Korea stays on the ground in pain during the team's Group H match against Uruguay at the FIFA World Cup at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, west of Doha, Nov. 24. Yonhap
Kim slipped and fell while trying to chase down Uruguayan forward Darwin Nunez in the second half. Kim stayed down on the pitch in obvious pain but played the rest of the contest. He said afterward he has suffered muscle strain but he didn't think it was serious.
Kim has been enjoying a successful first season with Napoli in the top Italian league, earning the Serie A Player of the Month honor for September and the Italian Footballers' Association's Player of the Month for October. He is easily the best defender for the Taegeuk Warriors and one of the team's most valuable players.
On another bit of injury-related news, midfielder Hwang Hee-chan rejoined training after being limited for days with a hamstring injury. Hwang had done some sprinting work Friday, indicating he was close to returning to full strength, and was a full participant in Saturday's session. Hwang, who had been dealing with hamstring problems since before joining the national team in Qatar, was not available against Uruguay.
Korea's next Group H match is against Ghana at 4 p.m. Monday at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, just west of Doha. (Yonhap)