Masked Son Heung-min makes brief appearance in Nice friendly

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min in action during a friendly against Nice at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Wednesday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min came on for the final 15 minutes of Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-1 friendly with Nice on Wednesday, joining a younger squad lacking a lot of the regular starting members as Spurs prepares for the return of the Premier League on Dec. 26.

Matt Doherty provided the sole goal for Spurs in the 21st minute at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, with his opposite number Antoine Mendy tying things up just after the break.

Son came on in the 74th minute wearing the distinctive carbon-fiber mask that he sported during the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Son had surgery on a series of orbital fractures shortly before the World Cup and made his return from injury with the national team. He was seen training with Spurs earlier this week without the mask, but obviously still needs to wear it during games.

Son captained Korea to a round of 16 finish at the World Cup, dropping out of the tournament after ending up drawn against Brazil to kick off the knockout stage.

In the group stage, Korea drew with Uruguay, lost to Ghana and beat Portugal. Son picked up an assist in the Portugal game.

Son’s performance at the World Cup was widely praised, although his injury clearly did impact his game. He was sluggish at points and occasionally seemed to see potential plays, possibly because the mask impacted his peripheral vision.

But Son appeared to grow more comfortable as the tournament went on and looked more and more like his old self by the Portugal game. The Korean midfielder will look to build on that momentum as Spurs return to the Premier League with a game against Brentford on Dec. 26, known as Boxing Day in Britain.

Spurs return from the international break in fourth place in the Premier League with nine wins, two draws and four losses so far this season.

Two of those losses came in the last four games — to Liverpool on Nov. 6 and Newcastle on Oct. 23. They also dropped out of the Carabao Cup with a 2-0 loss to Nottingham Forest at the start of November.

Antonio Conte and the squad will be looking to bounce back as the season resumes, with the Italian manager also likely eyeing some possible moves when the January transfer window opens in less than 10 days’ time.

While Son did get some playing time on Wednesday, key starters that progressed further in the World Cup like Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris were out of the squad as they focus on resting before rejoining the club later this week.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]