Chu-young Comes Back Next Week
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
FC Seoul frontman Park Chuyoung is set to make his longawaited comeback next week in
a match against Chunbuk Hyundai, club officials said.
Park, who was hailed by many as Korean football’s next big thing but saw his young career hampered by a string of injuries, had been sidelined since May with a foot injury he ustained in February flaring up. The 22-year-old striker resumed light training with his teammates Wednesday, FC Seoul manager Senol Gunnes told the local media.
“He started touching he ball. He has been working to regain his game shape during his rehab period so he will be ready to go once the foot feels fine enough,” said Gunnes.
The return of Park could not come at a more critical time for Gunnes who saw his team slipping in the standings with theshortage of attacking cover. Park’s frontline partner Jung Jogook has also missed onsiderable time walking wounded, and reserve forward Sim Wooyeon, a gingery 1.95-meter striker with deceptive scoring ability, is out for the season with a knee injury.
It remains to be seen how strong Park, still an injury risk, could return from his two-month hiatus. Although age is clearly on his side, as no doubt younger players tend to recover faster and more completely from serious injuries than older players, team officials have been concerned about the MRI tests that revealed the bone density on Park’s hurting left foot to be below average.
Confidence would be another factor for Park known for his high scoring rate and low pain threshold, although even the shorthanded Gunnes would be reluctant to allow his oft-injured star player to put his body on the line immediately.
Park returning to action is also a relief to South Korea’s under-23 coach Park Sung-hwa, who is currently fielding a team short in ammunition in the Beijing Olympic qualifiers.
The coach is penciling Chuyoung as a starter for the Oct. 17 road match against Syria and hopes that the striker would be fit and firing by then.