Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte is "confident" that Son Heung-min will be able to represent South Korea at the World Cup.
The 30-year-old was forced to undergo surgery at the end of last week to address a fractured eye socket that he suffered in Tottenham's Champions League clash with Marseille last Tuesday.
"The South Korea international suffered the injury during the first half of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League victory at Olympique Marseille," read a statement from Spurs at the time.
"Following surgery, Son will commence rehabilitation with our medical staff and we shall update supporters further in due course."
There were fears that the injury would rule him out of the entirety of the World Cup, which is due to begin on November 20, with Qatar facing Ecuador in the tournament opener.
South Korea will compete in Group H alongside Uruguay, Portugal and Ghana, with their first match scheduled for November 24 against Uruguay.
Conte, speaking after Tottenham's 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League, revealed that the attacker is now at home recovering from the operation, and the Italian is expecting him to be fit for the tournament.
"With Sonny, I sent him a message after the surgery," Conte told reporters. "Sonny was really, really disappointed with this situation but I hope for him to recover very well and to play in the World Cup because I was a player and I know the importance of the World Cup.
"He missed us tonight. I'm confident that he can come back quickly and play in the World Cup. He's not in hospital now, he's home."
Son has found it difficult to show his best form for Spurs during the 2022-23 campaign, managing only three goals and two assists in 13 appearances in all competitions.
The forward is South Korea's captain and most influential player, though, representing the national side on 105 occasions, contributing 35 goals and 17 assists in the process.
Son will again be missing for Tottenham against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, while he is also set to miss Saturday's Premier League game with Leeds United.
South Korea famously finished fourth at the 2002 World Cup, while they made the round of 16 in 2010 after a group-stage exit in 2006.
The country's last two tournaments have seen them fail to progress past the group stage, though, exiting in the first round in both 2014 and 2018.
Paulo Bento's side will play a friendly ahead of the tournament, with Iceland their opponents on November 11. body check tags ::
