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Son Heung-min injured finger in altercation with teammate on eve of Asian Cup exit

Published: 14 Feb. 2024, 12:07 Updated: 14 Feb. 2024, 14:24

JIM BULLEY
[email protected]

Son Heung-Min looks dejected after Jordan's Mousa Tamari scores their second goal in the semifinal of the Asian Cup in Qatar on Feb. 6. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The KFA on Wednesday confirmed media reports that Son Heung-min injured his finger in an altercation with a teammate ahead of Korea’s loss to Jordan in the semifinals of the Asian Cup last week.

According to a report from British newspaper The Sun, Son dislocated his finger in a “bust-up” after a row erupted at dinner the night before the game.

The incident reportedly happened after some younger members of the team — including Lee Kang-in, according to The Sun — rushed their dinner because they wanted to go and play table tennis.

Son, the team’s captain, and some of the older players were unhappy with the younger players leaving as meals are supposed to be a time for team bonding.

The disagreement reportedly quickly turned physical, according to an anonymous source quoted in the initial report, and the players had to be pulled apart. Son injured his finger trying to calm the situation and had to play with it taped up in the semifinal the following day.

The KFA has already confirmed that the report is true.

"It happened when some young players went up to play table tennis, and Son Heung-min and other older players took issue with it," an official was quoted as saying by Yonhap News. "The players exchanged a few words and Son hurt his finger in the process."

Korea lost 2-0 to Jordan in the Asian Cup semifinal the following day, failing to land a single shot on target despite being one of the highest-ranked teams in the competition.

The KFA has since faced a barrage of criticism aimed at the organization and at manager Jurgen Klinsmann. The National Team Committee is set to meet Thursday to discuss the manager’s status, with growing calls from some fans for the departure of both Klinsmann and KFA Chairman Chung Mong-gyu.

The KFA weighing in on The Sun report is also facing backlash from fans, who believe that the organization moved unusually quickly to confirm the report in an effort to shift the focus away from Klinsmann and Chung.

Son has already returned to London to rejoin Tottenham Hotspur, where he is also the captain. He made his return to the team against Brighton on Saturday, coming on as a substitute and assisting the winning goal.

Talking to The Standard over the weekend, Son described his return to Spurs as helping to “heal the pain” or the Asian Cup, adding that it was “not nice to talk about the tournament again.”

"It is not nice talking about the tournament again," Son told The Standard. "It is really tough to take, but it is part of football. It really hurts, but to heal is playing football again to make me smile again — like Saturday.”

Speaking after Saturday’s game against Brighton, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou also alluded to Korea’s issues at the Asian Cup.

“Maybe the nation he plays for works against him,” Postecoglou said. “I think he’s a world-class player. Look at his record in the Premier League, the toughest league in the world, and his goal contributions, irrespective of how the team’s gone through the time he’s been here, have always been right up there, even this year.

“I think he was probably the best attacking player in the competition.”

Son’s hand was still bandaged during Saturday’s game.

BY JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]