By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
South Korean football players just can't seem to stay healthy this year. The injury bug that plagued the national football team during this year's Asian Cup seems to have found younger prey as the under-23 team manager Park Seong-hwa finds himself with a squad compromised of ailing players with the final qualification rounds for the Olympics just around the corner.
The biggest concern is the team's undisputed top star, Park Chu-young, the 22-year-old FC Seoul forward with a high scoring rate but a low pain threshold. The All-Star striker is coming off a two-month layoff from a foot injury and has yet to return to full health.
Coach Park would need his star forward in vintage form to lead the attacking unit abundant with slashers but short in finishers, and taking time is not an option with the Olympic qualifiers opening with a match against Uzbekistan on Aug. 22.
Chu-young seems to be improving in shape, appearing in the football league's All-Star game earlier this month, but it remains to be seen whether he will be cleared for the Uzbekistan match.
Should Chu-young fail to regain game shape in time, Park would certainly have a headache to draw a lineup without him. As fragile as the FC Seoul striker is, he is still among the healthier half of Park's attacking unit that seems to be suffering a spell of misfortune.
Ulsan Hyundai striker Yang Dong-hyeon, a 1.86-meter forward with fluid skills, will not be available for the qualifiers after breaking a nasal bone. His absence is certainly a blow to the team, as he would have been an ideal partner to Chu-young in the two-man front under Park's 4-4-2 formation.
Park's quest to find a big, strong central forward to pair with Chu-young, who excels in the role of deep-lying striker, just got harder. Sim Woo-yeon, a 1.95-meter striker who shares playing time with Chu-young at FC Seoul, suffered a torn knee ligament in a club match against the Chunnam Dragons Thursday, which is expected to keep him sidelined for at least three months.
This means that Park may end up relying on the team's younger attackers _ such as Suwon Samsung's 20-year-olds Shin Young-rok and Ha Tae-goon _ more than he would have wished for.
Seongnam Ilhwa striker Han Dong-won, a speedy attacker whose skills perhaps better fit on the flanks, had filled up Chu-young's void during injury and could be moved back to central midfield.