Nat'l football team defender tests positive for COVID-19

South Korea's Kim Jin-su suffers from an injury during a match against Japan at Busan Asiad Stadium in December last year during the 2019 East Asian Football Championship. Yonhap

A South Korean football player based in Saudi Arabia has tested positive for COVID-19, costing him a spot on the national team for upcoming friendly matches.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced Saturday that fullback Kim Jin-su, who plays for Al-Nassr FC, tested positive for the coronavirus and won't be able to join the national team for matches against Mexico and Qatar later this month in Europe.

Lee Ju-yong, a fullback for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in South Korea's K League 1, will replace Kim.

There has been an outbreak at Al-Nassr, with 11 players, including Kim, and nine staff members testing positive.

Coached by Paulo Bento, South Korea will first face Mexico in the Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, at 9 p.m. Nov. 14 (local time ― 5 a.m. Nov. 15, KST). South Korea will then play Qatar at 2 p.m. Nov. 17 (10 p.m. Nov. 17, KST) at BSFZ Arena Admiral Stadium in Maria Enzersdorf, also near Vienna.

Two Bundesglia players, SC Freiburg midfielder Kwon Chang-hoon and Holstein Kiel midfielder Lee Jae-sung, will return to Germany after the Mexico match. The KFA said earlier in the week that those two players must each serve a five-day quarantine upon arriving back in Germany, and it had reached deals with their two clubs to have them available for only the first match. FC Seoul's midfielder Ju Se-jong has also been added to the national team. (Yonhap)