Son Heung-min (33, Tottenham) is in big trouble.
Tottenham will face league leader Liverpool in the 34th round of the 2024-25 Premier League season at Anfield in Liverpool, England, on the 28th.
Liverpool (79 points) is leading, 13 points ahead of second-place Arsenal (66 points). If Liverpool wins against Tottenham, they will secure the championship. On the other hand, Tottenham, which has dropped to 16th place, is all in on winning the UEFA Europa League, so motivation is lacking.
Tottenham has no intention of giving their best for the away match against Liverpool. Injured Son Heung-min will not be put in the match, either. "The Standard" reported on the 22nd that "Tottenham captain Son Heung-min is highly likely to miss the away match against Liverpool on the 28th. Son Heung-min has already missed three games due to a foot injury. His health issues remain unresolved."
Angie Postecoglou's ambition has aggravated the situation. Son Heung-min was injured during a deep tackle against Frankfurt in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals on the 11th. Initially, Angie Postecoglou said that Son Heung-min's injury was not severe. However, ahead of the second leg, he changed his statement, saying, "Son Heung-min's condition has worsened instead of improved. We need to monitor his condition for the time being."
Postecoglou did not protect Son Heung-min adequately. Son Heung-min was injured during a deep tackle by Frankfurt's Djibril Sow in the 61st minute of the first leg. Son Heung-min complained of severe pain.
Son Heung-min actually played for about 30 more minutes before being substituted. The coaching staff's failure to accurately assess the player's condition also contributed to the situation. Ultimately, because Son Heung-min was not treated in time, he exacerbated his injury by overexerting himself. If he had been substituted promptly when injured, his return could have been quicker.
The bigger problem is that Son Heung-min is at risk of breaking his significant record. Since joining Tottenham in 2015, Son Heung-min has consistently shown scoring ability. After scoring 4 goals in the 2015-16 season to adapt to England, he started scoring 14 goals the following year and has exceeded 10 goals for eight consecutive years. Notably, Son Heung-min tied for the top scorer with Mohamed Salah in 2022 with 23 goals. He was the first Asian player to win the top scorer award.
This season, due to injury, his streak of nine consecutive seasons with double-digit scoring is at risk of ending. So far, Son Heung-min has scored 7 goals and provided 9 assists, which falls short of expectations. If he cannot play in the match against Liverpool, he will need to score more than 3 goals in the remaining four games. Given Son Heung-min's recent struggles, this will not be easy. His last field goal was against Arsenal on Jan. 15.
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