Spurs star Son suffers injury in 'furious ping pong bust-up' with team-mate
Son Heung-min dislocated his finger in an altercation with his South Korea team-mates on the eve of their Asia Cup defeat by Jordan.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s side were beaten 2-0 by Jordan – a team 64 places below them in the FIFA rankings – in the semi-finals of the competition on February 6. The defeat was a huge shock for Korea and there has been a sizeable backlash against Klinsmann, with many calling for him to be sacked.
Son’s side failed to muster a single shot on target against Jordan and he has since returned to the Premier League, where he came off the bench for Tottenham in their 2-1 win over Brighton on Saturday. Korea’s terrible performance in Qatar last week has largely been laid at the door of Klinsmann, but all wasn't right within his squad.
Son was involved in an angry bust-up with some of his team-mates on the eve of the match. The captain was reportedly angry that some of the younger players, including Paris Saint-Germain star Lee Kang-in, scoffed their food quickly during a team meal in order to leave and play ping pong, deeming their behaviour disrespectful.
Son tried to call them back, but it was then that a row broke out. According to reports in South Korea, Son grabbed the collar of Lee, who then swung a fist at him. Although the PSG man did not connect, players had to be pulled apart and Son dislocated his finger in the scuffle.
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The 31-year-old forward had to play the Jordan game with his index and middle fingers on his right hand taped together. The tape was still there when he came off the bench for Spurs on the weekend, showing the severity of the injury.
Speaking after the defeat, Son made no mention of the problems in the camp and defended his team-mates. "I don’t know what to say really," he said. "I am so sorry. The players did their best. I’m very sorry that the game ended like this by mistakes. The fans showed us great support, I’m sorry we could not deliver as our fans expected.
Son Heung-min played against Jordan with taped up fingers (Simon Holmes/Getty Images)"I’ll try harder so that the national team can grow further in the future. Again, I’m very sorry. It's very disappointing. I'm devastated about this result. Jordan are having an amazing journey this tournament. It's incredible. They deserve it. They were fighting until the end. I have no regrets. I was giving everything to be honest. It was a really tough competition."
Klinsmann has attracted most of the criticism for the Asia Cup, with several politicians weighing in on the German’s future as boss. His negative tactics and failure to move to South Korea from his home in the United States have not gone down well.
The 59-year-old has insisted he won’t resign, however. "I'm not planning to do anything,” he said. “I'm planning to analyse this tournament, to go with the team back to Korea and then talk to the federation about what was good and what was not so good in that tournament.”
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