Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-min has allayed fears of another injury after briefly going down in South Korea's World Cup 2026 qualifying win over Singapore on Thursday.
The 31-year-old sported the captain's armband for his nation's opening preliminary encounter, which saw South Korea run out 5-0 victors to get their qualifying campaign off to a flyer.
Son scored his nation's third goal with 63 minutes on the clock, but the forward then went down clutching his ankle in agony during the dying embers, at which point Jurgen Klinsmann had already used up all five of his substitutions.
The former Bayer Leverkusen man was ultimately able to continue after gingerly trudging off the field to receive treatment, but his knock naturally raised concern among the Tottenham faithful.
Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou is already working an injury crisis in attack, but Son was able to walk around the pitch to acknowledge the fans at full time and played down his injury to the press.
"We are making a team for the World Cup, I can't give up a game just because I feel pain. If I can't run anymore, then I can't do anything about it but when I can run, I have to give 100% for the team," the attacker told the media.
"I am fine now, I don't like to lie down [on the pitch] in the winter. At that moment [when he went down] I couldn't feel anything on my foot. I'm fine, no injury."
As a result, Son is expected to be involved when South Korea resume their World Cup qualifying campaign against China next Tuesday, as he seeks to continue his bright start to the campaign for club and country.
The 31-year-old struggled to hit his usual heights during the 2022-23 season, but he has thrived since being appointed the club's new captain, scoring eight goals and setting up one more in 12 Premier League games.
Son - who has been deployed as the focal point of Spurs' attack following the departure of Harry Kane - won the September Premier League Player of the Month award as recognition for his exploits, although he failed to contribute in recent defeats to Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
While Postecoglou will seemingly have Son fit and raring to go once he returns to North London, the Australian is still bereft of options on the left flank following Richarlison's groin operation, which is expected to keep the Brazilian out for a few weeks.
In addition, Manor Solomon and Ivan Perisic are both recovering from knee operations, while the perennially-injured Ryan Sessegnon is no closer to making his comeback from a thigh procedure.
As a result, Tottenham are being tipped to dip into the January market to provide cover for Son and Brennan Johnson, and they have apparently taken a liking to Juventus youngster Samuel Iling-Junior.
James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Alfie Whiteman are also on Tottenham's injury list, while Cristian Romero is set to serve the second of a three-game ban during the visit of Aston Villa on November 26.
Yves Bissouma will also sit out the clash with the Lions on account of picking up five yellow cards, but Destiny Udogie will return from a ban of his own when the top flight resumes. body check tags ::
