Tottenham attacker Son Heung-min’s Asian Cup journey came to a shocking end as South Korea were knocked out by Qatar in the quarter-finals.
The defeat means he is free to return to Tottenham and will provide us with a handy boost, with Harry Kane and Dele Alli out till March. However, the South Korean claims he is “physically tired”.
Son played in the World Cup, won the Asian Games gold medal with South Korea and has barely had any time off this season.
Speaking after the loss, he claimed that he was not prepared for the tournament, and apologised for letting down the team and the fans (h/t Sky Sports):
“I felt physically empty. I feel so sorry to have let down my team-mates, coaches and the fans.
“I would rather not speak about it really but I haven’t felt right physically. I was losing sleep – I should have looked after my condition better.”
This would be a bit of a concern for Spurs given that they have some important games coming up. We were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Chelsea, and our next game is against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup.
Spurs also have to face Borussia Dortmund over two legs in the Champions League round of 16. For all these games, we need Son back to his best very soon.
The South Korean could do with a mini-break in the coming days, but we cannot keep him out of the side for too long.
