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Son Heung-min will be able to play in South Korea’s opening game Globalism The team’s coach, Paulo Bento, said a cup match against Uruguay, Thursday, despite wearing a mask after facial surgery.
The Tottenham striker and South Korean captain underwent surgery earlier this month after fracturing around his left eye in a collision during a Champions League match.
“His son can play and he will be able to play,” Pinto said on Wednesday.
It remains to be seen how far the South Korean talisman will show, as the Portuguese coach warned: “He knows and we know that after this injury we cannot take any risks.”
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The 30-year-old was training in Qatar wearing a mask, and South Korean fans were eagerly awaiting updates on his fitness.
In a training session in Doha, the mask seemed to worry Son as he went through fitness training with the rest of the squad.
Pinto stressed that the mask was “natural” for the player, who scored 35 goals in more than 100 international caps and shared the Golden Boot in the English Premier League last season with Mohamed Salah of Liverpool.
“The fact that he will be wearing a mask is not uncomfortable for him,” Pinto said.
“We’ve stuck to the plan since we got here, and the way he’s integrated us into our group shows it’s been a natural.
“We’ll see tomorrow how it goes. We hope he feels as comfortable as possible.”
However, Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan is unlikely to feature due to a hamstring issue.
– Uruguay warned –
Uruguay, who boast veteran strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, as well as young talents such as Federico Valverde and Darwin Nunez, will be favorites to win the Group H match.
But coach Diego Alonso said the two-time champions would be wary of South Korea whether or not Son participated.
He said, “Obviously, Korea not only has this player. I have a lot of respect for Son, but Korea also has other players, they are well trained, they have a good coach, a very good lineup, we respect everyone.”
After Argentina were led by Lionel Messi at the end of a shock loss to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, veteran captain Diego Godin said Uruguay should “tread carefully”.
The Koreans reached the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup, which they co-hosted with Japan, but failed to pass the group stage in the past two tournaments.
Godin said, “We have a lot of respect for our opponents, and know we’re up against a great team. They’re very competitive, very dynamic, with good individual players who also have a certain way of playing.”
The 36-year-old is one of a number of veteran Uruguay players to make his fourth World Cup appearance, along with Cavani, Suarez, Fernando Muslera and Martin Caceres.
But they also have Real Madrid superstar Valverde and midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, Son’s teammate at Tottenham.
In the other Group H match on Thursday, Ghana faces Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo.
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