We possibly face losing Heung-Min Son for TWO YEARS to the South Korean Army according to various media sources.
Under Korean law, all men must do 21 months of National Service before they turn 28 and Son reaches that milestone in July 2019 and any military call-up would rule him out of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
The South Korean government does give exemptions for sports stars who perform exceptionally at major tournaments and it means he could get a free pass if his country shines at this summer’s World Cup in Russia.
South Korea have been drawn in Group F with Germany, Sweden and Mexico — and would need to match their 2002 performance by reaching the last four, however with that an unlikely scenario,Son has two other get-out routes.
If South Korea and Son were to win either the 2018 Asian Games or the 2019 Asian Cup, he would be given his exemption by the Army and it adds that South Korea want Son, their best player, to be one of their three over-age players in the Asian Games, which takes place in Indonesia from August 18th to September 2nd
It adds that he would be expected to help lead South Korea’s attempt to retain the Asian Cup.They won it last time out without Son after his then-club Bayer Leverkusen refused to release him in 2014 for the tournament in the UAE.
Son could miss our first four games of next season if he is included in the Asian Games squad.
Mauricio Pochettino would probably see the upside of not losing the attacking midfielder for nearly two years as a gamble worth taking by freeing him to compete at the Asian games.
Son is enjoying a stunning season, bagging 18 goals as we close in on another top-four finish.
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