Ex-nat'l team winger Lee Dong-jun returns to K League after injury-plagued Germany stint

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- Former national football team winger Lee Dong-jun returned to the top South Korean league Thursday, putting an end to a short stint in Germany marred by injuries.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors announced their acquisition of the 25-year-old speedster. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Lee had been with Hertha BSC in the Bundesliga since January, but he only logged four matches without a goal in the 2021-22 season, getting shut down in April due to a knee injury. While preparing for the 2022-23 season, Lee suffered a muscle strain in his leg in July. He had not played in any match this season before making the U-turn to the K League on Thursday.

Lee made his club debut in the second-tier K League 2 with Busan IPark and helped them earn a promotion to the K League 1 for 2020. He was voted the 2019 K League 2 MVP after leading his team with 13 goals and seven assists in 37 matches.

Lee joined Ulsan Hyundai FC before the 2021 season and was an MVP candidate in his first season there after scoring a team-high 11 goals in 32 matches.

Lee starred for the under-23 national team from 2019 to 2021 and made his senior international debut in March 2021. Thanks to his combination of speed and nose for the goal, he would have been considered for a spot at the recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar, had it not been for his disastrous stay in Germany.

He will now look for a fresh start with Jeonbuk, the nemesis of his former team, Ulsan. In 2022, Ulsan held off Jeonbuk for their first K League 1 title in 17 years and ended Jeonbuk's run of consecutive championships at five.

"I will play my best for Jeonbuk supporters," Lee said in a statement released by Jeonbuk. "It's both my personal goal and the team objective to lift the championship trophy next year."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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