Posted: 19:23, November 2, 2022 | Updated: 21:34, November 2, 2022
Son Heung-min will undergo surgery to repair a fractured cheekbone to leave his World Cup dreams in serious jeopardy. As MailOnline exclusively revealed on Wednesday, the forward underwent tests amid fears he had suffered a fractured cheekbone on the left side of his face in the brutal aerial challenge with Chancel Mbemba in Tuesday’s Champions League win in Marseille. And on Wednesday night, Spurs confirmed Sean needs surgery to repair the damage caused by the harrowing collision. Son Heung-min (centre) left the pitch after suffering a head injury against Marseille Tottenham have confirmed the South Korean will need surgery on a fracture around his left eye A Spurs statement read: “We can confirm that Heung-Min Son will undergo surgery to stabilize a fracture around his left eye. “The South Korea international suffered the injury during the first half of Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League win at Olympique de Marseille. “Following surgery, Son will begin rehabilitation with our medical staff and we will update supporters further in due course.” The news leaves Son facing an anxious wait to find out if he can play at the World Cup with South Korea. Antonio Conte (pictured) will have a nervous wait for the star striker’s availability Conte watched from the stands as Spurs scored a last-minute winner to advance to the last 16 of the CL Sean will undergo surgery before the end of the week, meaning he is very likely to miss Sunday’s clash with Liverpool. But when he will be available for selection will depend on how he recovers from the operation. Indeed, sources have not ruled out Son could be fitted with a protective mask with a view to being available for the final Premier League game before Qatar – against Leeds on November 12. The prospect of losing Son for the games against Liverpool and Leeds will be a blow for Tottenham manager Antonio Conte, whose forward line is already ravaged by injury. Harry Kane (left) set up Pierre-Emile Hoiberg (right) for Spurs’ injury-time winner on Tuesday Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski are currently unavailable, meaning Harry Kane and Lucas Moura are Tottenham’s only fit strikers if Sean is unable to play this weekend. In addition to determining the extent of the damage to his cheekbone, Son also underwent concussion tests on Wednesday. Initial indications were that Sean was not concussed, but if he has suffered a head injury, he will be out for a mandatory six days. Meanwhile, key defender Cristian Romero has suffered a muscle strain which is expected to keep him out until the World Cup. Richarlison (left) and Cristian Romero are also doubts to play in Sunday’s game against Liverpool Conte’s men were off yesterday and have another day off today as reward for their 2-1 win at Marseille which sealed their place in the last 16 of the Champions League. After the defeat to Sporting in Lisbon, the Spurs manager had his players report for an 11am training session despite having returned from Portugal just hours earlier. But Conte appeared more lenient after returning from France in the early hours of Wednesday morning, giving them two days off in a row before Sunday’s game against Liverpool.
