Tottenham captain Son Heung-min appears to be in severe need of rest after his recent performance for South Korea shown signs of tiredness.
Few players in the world of football understand the pressure Son is under as captain of both his club and his country.
Ange Postecoglou has depended extensively on the forward this season, starting him in all 20 Premier League matches in which the 31-year-old has been available, accumulating 1,718 minutes of club football by the midway mark.
Following Spurs’ 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday 14 January, the majority of Son’s teammates will take a long break before their fourth-round FA Cup home match against Manchester City on Friday 26 January.
However, for the club’s top scorer this season, football does not end as he now takes on national duty away from Hotspur Way, captaining South Korea at the 2024 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
His country started the tournament on a high note, defeating Bahrain 3-1 on Monday, January 15, but Son played a minor role in that victory.
While the former Bayer Leverkusen player normally leads the way for South Korea, his international teammates impressed in their first Group E match, while Son struggled.
Nonetheless, against Bahrain, Son struggled in this area as well, winning only five of his 10 ground duels, losing one aerial duel, and making only one tackle.
While Son’s start was far from ideal, most South Korean fans will be relieved that their country was still able to win, but Postecoglou has some serious concerns.
This was the performance of a player who is undoubtedly exhausted from playing so much football this season, and that exhaustion will only worsen as the Asian Cup unfolds, with Son certain to play the majority of his country’s minutes.
This could result in the forward returning to England in need of rest, which Postecoglou cannot afford to provide with Premier League matchups looming in February.
Spurs have four league games in 20 days next month, and the club’s 58-year-old manager will need his talisman healthy and firing when he returns.
Son has been in excellent form this season, scoring 12 league goals and contributing five assists, and he signed off for international duty in style during the club’s 3-1 home victory against Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve.
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