TOTTENHAM HEUNG-MIN SON FORWARD SAYS HE IS FIT FOR THE WORLD CUP AFTER SURGERY AROUND A FRACTURED EYE

After undergoing surgery on an eye fracture, Heung-Min Son is confirmed to be fit to participate in the World Cup with South Korea. "Hi everyone," the Tottenham forward wrote on Instagram. It has been a pleasure to receive so many messages of support over the last week. I have read so many of them and truly, truly appreciate them all. You all provided a lot of support to me during a difficult time. As a child, many children dream of playing for their country at the World Cup, just as I did. I cannot wait to represent our beautiful country. I look forward to seeing you again soon." Son underwent surgery last Friday to stabilize a fracture around his left eye after sustaining the injury during Tottenham's 2-1 win over Marseille.

South Korea is concerned that their star player could miss the World Cup in Qatar, their 11th appearance in the competition. Son excelled in their convincing qualifying campaign, winning seven and losing only one out of ten games to finish second behind Iran. During last season's campaign, Son scored 23 goals to become the first Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot, which he shared with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. His achievements only served to enhance his 'god-like' status back in South Korea, where Antonio Conte's side received him with a hero's welcome during the preseason tour.

His arrival in Qatar as one of the tournament's elite players at the age of 30 is likely to be met with similar fanfare. Aside from becoming the country's all-time top scorer, Son has the opportunity to surpass Ahn Jung-Hwan and Park Ji-Sung's record of three goals at World Cups. However, Son still has a long way to go before he becomes South Korea's leading goal scorer, as he sits 23 goals behind Cha Bum-Kun. In the immediate future, Son will be focused on leading his side to the next round of the group stage for just the third time in the history of the team.

By Rashmi Goel