Uhm Won-sang (Ulsan Hyundai) and Ahn Jae-joon (Bucheon FC), who were called up to the Asian Games squad, were unable to participate in team training due to injury.
Hwang Sun-hong’s Asian Games squad will convene at Paju NFC on Sept. 25 for a three-day training camp until Sept. 27.
The Hangzhou Asian Games were scheduled to be held in 2022 but were postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition age has also been increased by one year from 23 to 24, and the final roster size has been raised from 20 to 22.
Head coach Hwang Sun-hong announced the final roster for the Asian Games on Nov. 14. Lee Kang-in, who moved to Paris Saint-Germain in France, was included, while Park Jin-seop, Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk), and Seol Young-woo (Ulsan Hyundai) were selected as wild cards to finalize the 22-man roster.
However, only 14 players were called up for the tournament. Baek Seung-ho, Seol Young-woo, Hwang Jae-won (Daegu FC), overseas players Lee Kang-in, Park Kyu-hyun (Dynamo Dresden), Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart), and Hong Hyun-seok (KAA Hent), who are participating in the Coupang Play Series, were excluded, as well as Lee Sang-min, who was named to the roster but was dropped due to a drunk driving scandal.
Two more players were left out of today’s training. Uhm Won-sang, who injured his ankle against China, and Ahn Jae-jun, who felt something wrong with his hamstring.
In June, the team traveled to China and played two games against the Chinese Asian Games team. There were concerns that the trip was unnecessary given the rough style of Chinese soccer. This turned out to be the case. In the first game, Uhm Won-sang, who came on as a second-half substitute, scored two goals and was then tripped by an opponent and suffered a broken ankle.
An MRI scan after the game revealed that she had damaged the outer and inner triangular ligaments of her right ankle, and she was sent home before the second game.
Due to the severity of the injury, it was unclear if she would be able to compete at the Asian Games, but she recovered quickly and played for her club, Ulsan Hyundai. He made his comeback on Nov. 21 at home against Jeju United, coming on as a late substitute for Kang Yoon-koo.
However, he did not participate in the national team’s training session that day. After being interviewed by the media, Uhm Won-sang did not participate in the team’s training session, but rested on one side of the training field with an ice pack. Uhm watched his teammates train with a complicated expression on his face.
Ahn Jae-jun, who has six goals and three assists in 14 matches for Bucheon FC, was also limited to individual training due to a hamstring injury. He went for a light run around the stadium with the national team coach.
An official from the Korea Football Association said, “Uhm Won-sang is having a hard time training after his injury against China. Tomorrow’s and the next day’s training will be decided after the national team’s medical team 메이저놀이터 closely examines him. For now, we’ve decided to skip today.” “Ahn Jae-jun also has a hamstring problem. We will continue to check his condition for the rest of the week, but we don’t know if he will train for the rest of the week.”