Son Heungmin is down

Son Heung-min is also a human being. As Son said, since he is not a robot, he has no choice but to get tired.

Son Heung-min is down. Son started the first round of the UEFA Europa League stage against Karabakh FK (Azerbaijan) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Monday. Son gave an assist to Dominique Solanke's wedge goal by attempting his signature right foot strong shot around the 23rd minute of the second half, before slumping on the ground holding onto his leg.

Son Heung-min realized he could no longer play. He immediately signaled a replacement request to the Tottenham bench, and the captain's armband was lifted. In the end, Son was replaced by Rodrigo Bentancourt, who finished in 71 minutes.

Fortunately, Son Heung-min walked off the field with his feet. As Son Heung-min seemed to feel uncomfortable in his legs, some raised concerns that Son Heung-min might have suffered a hamstring injury, but it didn't seem to be a major injury.

After the game, coach Anji Postecoglou said Son Heung-min said he was tired.

Coach Postecoglou said at a press conference with local media, "We haven't talked more about Son Heung-min's injury yet, but Son Heung-min seems to be a little tired."

Son Heung-min, who attended a press conference a day before the game and said, "We are not robots," was unusually bitter about the controversy over players' overwork, which was recently thrown into the soccer world, and coincidentally collapsed due to injuries caused by accumulation of fatigue in the game immediately after the press conference.

Son Heung-min is famous for playing a tight schedule among players currently playing in the Premier League PL.

First of all, Son is an indispensable player in his team, Tottenham. Although Son is suffering from various forced criticisms, one can guess the importance of Son in that he never excludes Son from the starting list at every major match.

Therefore, he has to play in all kinds of matches. Even he couldn't rest properly as he was substituted after his team was dragged into the Carabao Cup League Cup match against Coventry City minor league. Although it was expected that Son might be able to take rest in the match against Karabakh, which is considered a relatively marginal league team, Postecoglou has deployed a large number of key players including Son.

What bothers Son more than anything else is the schedule of the national team's matches that take place between seasons. Son, as the captain of the Korean national soccer team, is participating in the final qualifying round for Korea to advance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals in North Korea and the U.S.

In the middle of this month, he came to Korea from England to play, and then moved to Oman to play full-time again. Son Heung-min played three games for a week even after returning from the A-match break. It is not strange for those with a normal level of physical strength to fall down already, but Son Heung-min held on, saying that it is an honor to select the national team itself.

Son is 32 years old now. Not only Son himself but also the team and the national team need to manage Son for a long time to see him play. Of course, if Son's performance is absent, his performance will falter significantly, so it is necessary to take a longer-term look at the positions of coaches who cannot easily remove Son.

If the current situation continues without player management, fans may see Son Heung-min's skills decline significantly again. Son Heung-min has already shown deterioration in his skills due to physical problems starting from the 2023 Asian Football Confederation AFC Qatar Asian Cup last season.

"The Guardian" analyzed that the physical problems that Asian players who play for overseas big clubs, such as Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae, experienced after visiting the Asian Cup led to their skills decline. In fact, Son Heung-min had a hard time in the first half of the 2023-24 season, while he hardly used his strength in the second half.

Son's voice should be heard. "We have too many matches and a long way to go. Players need time to recover, but there are too many matches to recover," Son said in a pre-match press conference with Karabakh. "Players sometimes have to participate in matches mentally and physically unprepared. If that happens, the risk of injury becomes too high."

Son Heung-min's injury does not seem to be significant in the current atmosphere, but considering the upcoming October schedule, it is clear that management is needed.

Tottenham will leave for Manchester United in three days. After that, Tottenham is waiting for the second round of the Europa League phase and the seventh round of the Premier League. If Son Heung-min plays in all of these matches, he will have to continue his push until the final qualifying round for the North-China World Cup against Jordan and Iraq on October 10 and 15. 안전놀이터

If Son Heung-min fails to manage his physical strength at this point, Tottenham's performance this season cannot be guaranteed. As the season started with a slogan of "winning," Tottenham should thoroughly manage its ace and help him play the entire season.