Injury Haunts Lee Again
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
South Korea's national football team coach Pim Verbeek hinted Tuesday he would not employ Middlesbrough striker Lee Dong-gook for the national team ahead of the Asian Cup in July.
``Lee's condition is not 100 percent now. It will not be helpful to the team if he joins with his condition,'' the Dutch coach said.
`` We talked about it and reached an agreement,'' he said before leaving for China to watch an A3 Champions Cup match between Seongnam Chunma and Shandong Luneng.
The attacker, 28, who transferred to the English premier side last February, was injured in his last game against Fullham.
Verbeek's remarks were taken to mean Lee's injury woes will continue.
Former Pohang Steeler Lee was expected to play for South Korean team at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
However, two months before the World Cup, he injured his right knee during a K-League game, shattering his dream to appear in the global football event eight years after the U.S. World Cup in 1998.
With solid performances in the English Premier League, Lee was recalled for the national team after 15 months but the injury is likely to sideline him again.
With Verbeek's help, Lee trained with the Olympic squad seeking the sixth straight berth to the quadrennial sports event but after an one-hour training, he quit due to pain in his injured knee.
``The Asian Cup is an important competition and individually I want to play. However, it is damaging to the team for me to play with an injury. I also need to prepare for next season so I won't play if my body condition doesn't permit,'' said Lee at a luncheon for the U-20 squad last Monday.
The coach also commented on Lee's possible replacement, Ahn Jung-hwan of Suwon BlueWings.
``It is possible for Ahn to be selected but he hasn't played enough time recently in the K-League,'' he said.
Verbeek said he would also not pick up injured Reading FC winger Seol Ki-hyeon and defender Lee Young-pyo of Tottenham Hotspur, saying, ``I feel sorry for not picking them up but it is trivial to take them to the Asian Cup.''
Lee, 30, had surgery on a left knee ligament last April and Seol, 28, had a bone fragment in his right foot one month ago.
The coach will announce the 23-member entry Friday after a meeting with coaching staff.
Meanwhile, Lee is expected to have a tough competition to acquire a starting slot for Middlesbrough next season.
Team chairman Steve Gibson expressed his desire to develop 12th placed Middlesbrough.
``We're talking to players who will improve the attacking part of the team. I honestly think we have the chance of pulling off one or two spectacular signings that will excite the fans,'' he said in an interview with BBC Radio Cleveland.
He added: ``We have some big targets. Obviously, we need one striker, preferably two.''
Lee lost the starting forward spot to leading scorer Australian Mark Viduka, who moved to New Castle last week, and Nigeria's Yakubu Ayegbini.
The team is said to have interest in strikers Turkish Tuncay Sanli of Fenerbahce and Dutch Romeo Castelen of Feyenoord.