Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham), a key striker and "captain" of the South Korean men's national soccer team, missed the game due to another injury.
Son Heung-min missed the third leg of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) phase of the 2024-2025 season between Tottenham and Alkmaar of the English professional football Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, at 4 a.m. on the 25th (Korea time).
As a result, Son Heung-min has already missed his team's schedule for four games due to injury at the beginning of this season alone.
Tottenham manager Enze Postecoglou explained the reason for his absence in an official press conference before the game, saying, "Son Heung-min feels a little pain after the match against West Ham United, so he will take a rest against Alkmaar."
Son Heung-min injured his hamstring while playing the first UEL match against Karabakh (Azerbaijan) on the 27th of last month.
With the injury, Son Heung-min took a total of five games off until three Tottenham schedules and two A matches in October for the South Korean men's national soccer team led by head coach Hong Myung-bo.
Fortunately, he recovered quickly and contributed greatly to his team's three-point victory by scoring a comeback goal in the eighth round of the EPL in the 2024-2025 season against West Ham on the 19th.
"Sometimes injuries can be a good break. We're having such a busy time," he said after the victory over West Ham. "The two to three weeks (when I rested) were perfect for me to recharge. I felt really good today," he said, apparently shaking off the injury issue completely.
However, he missed the match against Alkmaar due to poor condition, and naturally the possibility of Son Heung-min's aging curve was raised.
With the development of modern medical science and sports science, it is not unfamiliar for world-class players to play in their 30s and 40s. Cristiano Ronaldo (39, Al Nasr) and Lionel Messi (37, Inter Miami), who were actually called "new players," are still showing their presence in their teams, even if they are not in their prime.
Son Heung-min, who was born in 1992 and is now 32 years old, is also expected to stay on the ground for a long time. However, apart from technological development, proper management is needed because it cannot go against the aging itself.
Coach Hong Myung-bo also directly mentioned the related information at the time of the announcement of the A match list in October.
"He has had a very difficult schedule going back and forth between the national team and his team. Son is still important, but his physical and physical aspects are also important," Hong said.
"Furthermore, the performance when they go to the World Cup finals is also important. In that regard, I will find a way for the players to do well while the club, the players, and the soccer association continue to communicate and not overdo it," he added.
Son Heung-min is a player who has been at the center of controversy over overwork until recently.
In September last year, the FIFPRO announced the results of analyzing the playing time (club + national team) of 1,800 male and female professional players (1500 men and 300 women) around the world for a year from September 15, 2022 to September 15, 2023.
According to the announcement at the time, Son played 58 matches (47 club matches and 11 national team matches), taking a total of 4,900 minutes to play. Based on the yearly performance, he played an average of 84.5 minutes per match.
He also traveled physically long distances. During this period, he traveled 77,000 kilometers and 1.92 laps of the earth over the past year. 스포츠토토
Two years after the 2026 FIFA World Cup North Korea-China-U.S. is held, Son is 34 years old. Now is the time for management to slow down the aging curve.