Hwang Hee-chan sidelined with injury days after triumphant return

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Hwang Hee-chan sidelined with injury days after triumphant return

Published: 19 Mar. 2023, 07:46 Updated: 19 Mar. 2023, 17:23

Hwang Hee-chan celebrates scoring the equalizer for Wolverhampton Wanderers in a game against Newcastle United at St. James' Park in Newcastle, England on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Hwang Hee-chan is out with an injury again just a week after returning to the Wolverhampton Wanderers squad, manager Julen Lopetegui said Friday.

“Unfortunately, we have an injury with Hee Chan,” Lopetegui said in a press conference ahead of Wolves’ game against Leeds on Saturday, “but the rest are more or less ready. We have a little bit of a problem with another player, but we have to wait until tomorrow or until tonight to have more information, but it’s clear that Hee Chan is out.

“Hee Chan is an important player for us, but unfortunately, he’s not here so we have to put our confidence in other players. We trust in all the squad, all the players, and we have to put the trust in those chosen.”

Hwang missed five games earlier this year after sustaining a hamstring injury during a game against Liverpool on Feb. 4. He returned last week and scored his first goal of the season against Newcastle, only to drop straight out of the squad again.

The initial hamstring injury came at a terrible time for Hwang, who was just starting to see things turn around after a difficult year in the Premier League.

Like the rest of the Wolves squad, Hwang has gone through a remarkable turnaround since the Spanish manager took the helm. He immediately returned to a starting spot in the squad and scored his first goal in nearly a year in an FA Cup game — also against Liverpool.

That Hwang added another goal against Newcastle immediately on his return suggested the break had not interrupted his development, but the immediate return to the sidelines won’t help.

More concerning is the return of injury problems for Hwang, who was sidelined with a similar hamstring injury just a couple of months ago. Hwang was officially out of commission for a week in November with a hamstring injury, although the far less specific “hamstring discomfort” was used to explain his absence throughout the final stretch leading up to the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

That discomfort also saw Hwang miss the first couple of games for Korea in Qatar, although he made it back on to the pitch just in time to score the winner against Portugal to carry the Taeguk Warriors through to the knockout stage.

A year earlier, Hwang also struggled with a hamstring injury that took him off the pitch from Dec. 19, 2021, to Feb. 6, 2022, and it was that absence that seemed to kick off his prolonged slump — he scored four goals in the Premier League before the injury and has managed just one in the year since he returned.

Earlier in his career, Hwang spent three separate spells on the injury books at Red Bull Salzburg with potentially hamstring-related injuries, 13 days out with a declared hamstring injury in 2017 and two short spells of “thigh problems” in 2018 and 2020.

While details of Hwang’s current injury are unclear, his absence for the game against Leeds — which Wolves lost 4-2 — suggests he is also likely to be out over the international break. Korea face Colombia on Friday and Uruguay on March 28.

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