(LEAD) S. Korea dealt devastating World Cup blow with Son Heung-min surgery

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By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's chances of reaching the knockouts at this year's World Cup, slim as they already may have been, were dealt a massive blow Thursday morning, when the news of surgery for their best player arrived via London.

In a statement released on their website, Tottenham Hotspur announced that Son Heung-min, the reigning Premier League Golden Boot winner, will undergo surgery "to stabilize a fracture around his left eye." The South Korea captain sustained the injury during the first half of Spurs' Group D match at Marseille in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

Son headed into the right shoulder of defender Chancel Mbemba as the players engaged in an aerial duel. Son stayed down on the field in obvious pain, and was helped off the pitch a few minutes later with his left eye nearly swollen shut and nose bleeding.

Tottenham did not give a timeline on Son's return, but it can be safely assumed that his status for the World Cup, which kicks off in just 17 days in Qatar, is in doubt at best.

As far as his impact on South Korea is concerned, Son, the longtime team captain and the country's active leading scorer with 35 goals in 104 matches, is as important to his country as anyone in the upcoming tournament. Think of Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal, Lionel Messi for Argentina and Neymar for Brazil.

South Korea will face Uruguay, Ghana and Portugal in Group H, with many pundits not even giving the Taeguk Warriors a puncher's chance to advance to the last 16.

And that was with Son, South Korea's most dangerous offensive player, in the mix. If Son can't play, then it will be hard to imagine seeing this team in the knockouts.

Quantifying the influence Son has on South Korea is a difficult task. The number of goals he scores is one thing. The 30-year-old is also the heart and soul of the team, someone who has gradually grown into his leadership role with excellence on the field and exemplary behavior away from it. Younger players gravitate toward him, while the few older members of the national team also lean on Son to stabilize things when the going gets tough.

Son went through an international dry spell around 2018 and 2019, leading to criticism that he was deferring to others too much, and he should be more assertive on offense. Son's defense had been that he was trying to make his teammates better by setting up scoring chances for them.

But then the captain kicked into another gear. Though he didn't really need to prove anything to anyone, Son started scoring at a much better rate. Dating back to June 2021, Son has scored nine goals in his last 15 international matches and has gone without a goal in back-to-back games just once in that span.

Son has the kind of talent to grab South Korea by their collective collar and drag them into the knockouts. If nothing else, his presence alone would command enough respect from opponents that South Korea wouldn't merely be a pushover.

Son's absence will clearly put pressure on other forwards to pick up the scoring slack, though a couple of mainstays up front, Hwang Ui-jo of Olympiakos and Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, have been struggling in their respective leagues and will be stumbling into the World Cup.

Son's versatility gives head coach Paulo Bento several strategic options. He can play as the lone striker or on the wings in a playmaking role.

Bento is scheduled to announce his final 26-man World Cup roster on Nov. 12, and the team will depart for Qatar two days later, with those based in Europe set to join the rest in the host country.

Because of what Son means to the team on and off the pitch, experts believe Son will still be selected to the team even if he is physically compromised.

"He has such a significant presence on the national team. And there should be ways he can help the team as a reserve," said television commentator Park Moon-sung. "He can also be a cheerleader on the bench for some younger guys."

South Korea's first group match, against Uruguay, is Nov. 24, followed by Ghana on Nov. 28 and Portugal on Dec. 2.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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