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LONDON (AFP) – Tottenham forward Son Heung-min will start four weeks of national service in South Korea this month.
The footballer returned to Asia recently after the Premier League was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic and is in a two-week quarantine period.
With the English game unlikely to restart soon, he will complete compulsory military service before returning to north London next month.
“The club can confirm that Son Heung-min will commence his mandatory military service in South Korea this month,” Tottenham said in a statement on Monday (April 6).
“Son will return to London following the conclusion of his military service in May.”
The 27-year-old hopes to start on April 20 and is reported to be serving in the Military Corps.
He is recovering after surgery in Seoul on the broken arm he suffered in the league win at Aston Villa in February. He uploaded pictures and a video on Instagram last week, showing him skipping without a cast on his arm.
On his return to England after the operation, he had to undergo two weeks of isolation and had been back at the club’s Hotspur Way training complex for only a week or so before it was closed following the British government’s instructions to stay at home.
The enforced break has worked in his favour. He will almost certainly be fit if the action does restart, having originally been expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Son’s national service should have been 21 months, but he earned an exemption in 2018 when he was part of the team that won the Asian Games gold.
