Son Heung-min returns to England for Premier League restart
Korean captain Son Heung-min waves to fans at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, before traveling to London to rejoin his Premier League club, Tottenham Hotspur, Dec. 13. Yonhap
Having led Korea to the knockout stage at the ongoing FIFA World Cup, Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min departed for London on Tuesday to prepare for the resumption of the Premier League campaign.
Son captained Korea to the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar, playing in all four matches through a serious facial injury by wearing a protective mask. Son sustained multiple fractures around his left eye in a collision with an opponent during a UEFA Champions League match on Nov. 1 and had surgery three days later. Son played in Korea's first Group H match against Uruguay on Nov. 24 wearing a black, carbon protective mask.
Though Son did not score in Qatar, he assisted on Hwang Hee-chan's last-gasp winner against Portugal in a 2-1 victory in Korea's final Group H match on Dec. 2. The upset win, combined with Uruguay's 2-0 victory over Ghana the same evening, sent Korea to the knockouts on a goals scored tiebreaker.
Korean captain Son Heung-min waves to fans at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, before traveling to London to rejoin his Premier League club, Tottenham Hotspur, Dec. 13. Yonhap
Korea lost to Brazil 4-1 in the round of 16 but still received a warm welcome home last Wednesday. Son and his teammates were also invited to a banquet hosted by President Yoon Suk-yeol the following evening.
Hundreds of fans sent off Son at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Tuesday, and Son spent some 40 minutes signing autographs before boarding his flight.
The Premier League is on a midseason break during the World Cup, which will conclude Sunday. Spurs will return to action against Brentford on Boxing Day, though they will also play a friendly match against the French club Nice at home on Dec. 21.
Korea's Son Heung-min walks with the ball during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Brazil and Korea, at the Stadium 974 in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Monday, Dec. 5. AP-Yonhap
They sit in fourth place in the 20-club league with 29 points from nine wins, two draws and four losses, eight points behind Arsenal, who have one match in hand with 14 played.
Last season, Son scored a career-high 23 goals to share the Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah of Liverpool as the co-scoring champions. Son is the first Asian player to capture that award.
He has not been nearly as deadly this season, though, with three goals in 13 matches. All three of them came via a hat trick against Leicester City on Sept. 17. (Yonhap)