Son Heung-min has revealed that the last three weeks were a "nightmare" for him as his World Cup hopes hung in the balance. Sustaining a fracture around his left eye in the first half of Tottenham's Champions League clash away at Marseille, the 30-year-old's place in South Korea's World Cup plans was in real jeopardy as he had to undergo surgery as a result.
Amid initial fears from his home country that he would miss out on the tournament in Qatar, Son was confirmed in Paulo Bento's 26-man squad 11 days after the incident at the Orange Velodrome. Needing to wear a protective mask on his face in both training and during a game, Son returned to the pitch on Thursday afternoon as his country drew 0-0 with Uruguay.
The Tottenham attacker was kept rather quiet during the encounter but he did flash an effort wide of the target in the final few minutes of the contest. Speaking to the media after the goalless draw, Son opened up on his swift recovery and what he told his physios immediately after the incident.
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"It was a nightmare to be honest," he told beIN SPORTS. "I was doing everything to be here because it is a big honour for me to play for this amazing country and I did everything.
"After I got the injury I called up some of my physios and said, 'Look, I don't care what is the option, I want to play the World Cup'. Then the surgery went really well and I'm grateful that Spurs did everything for me to be here.
"So I'm really, really grateful to everyone around me and also teammates, so was a great feeling to be here again and playing one of the greatest tournaments in the world."
Following their 0-0 draw against Uruguay, South Korea return to action on Monday afternoon with a showdown against Ghana. Their Group H campaign comes to an end next Friday when they take on Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal.
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