Son banners South Korea’s World Cup squad

Heung-min Son has been included in South Korea’s 26-man squad for this month’s World Cup finals in Qatar despite suffering a fractured eye socket playing for Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League earlier this month.

Head coach Paulo Bento included Son in his squad after the 30-year-old declared himself fit to feature for the Koreans, who will be making their 10th consecutive appearance at the World Cup finals.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Tottenham Hotspur’s Son said he will be available for the World Cup after undergoing surgery to stabilize a fracture around his left eye.

He added that he would play with a protective mask if required.

Son, 30, sustained the injury in Tottenham’s 2-1 Champions League tie at Olympique de Marseille last week.

“Of course, he’s going to be selected,” Bento told reporters, adding that there was no “Plan B.”

“It’s a situation that’s going to demand certain things and adaptations. We should let him come and do what he should do. And after that, we have time to make the right decision and best decisions for all of us.”

“For us, it’s something normal from Sonny,” Bento added. “We already had other moments where he was injured and he wanted to play. So it’s not a surprise at all for us.”

South Korea’s hopes at the World Cup, which begins on November 20, rest heavily on captain Son, who has scored 35 goals in 104 appearances for his country.

Bento’s team will begin their World Cup campaign against Uruguay in Group H on November 24 before facing Ghana on November 28 and Portugal on December 2.

South Korean squad

Kim Seung-gyu, Jo Hyeon-woo, Song Bum-keun, Kim Min-jae, Kim Jin-su, Hong Chul, Kim Moon-hwan, Yoon Jong-gyu, Kim Young-gwon, Kim Tae-hwan, Kwon Kyung-won, Cho Yu-min, Jung Woo-young, Na Sang-ho, Paik Seung-ho, Son Jun-ho, Song Min-kyu, Kwon Chang-hoon, Son Heung-min, Lee Jae-sung, Hwang Hee-chan, Hwang In-beom, Jeong Woo-yeong, Lee Kang-in, Hwang Ui-jo, Cho Gue-sung

– Rappler.com