Under-20 (U-20) national team member Park Seung-ho (20, Incheon United) is returning home after suffering an ankle injury.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced on June 30, “Park Seung-ho, who suffered a right ankle injury in the FIFA U-20 World Cup Honduras match on June 26, will return home on June 30 as it was determined that he will not be able to play in future matches. He is scheduled to arrive at Incheon Airport on June 1 at 16:00 on KE902 flight.”
The KFA added, “According to the association’s medical staff dispatched to Argentina, Park Seung-ho is expected to be able to play in five to six months if he completes his surgery and rehabilitation well.” In effect, he’s out for the season.
Park scored the game-winning goal in South Korea’s second group game against Honduras, finishing off a corner kick from Lee Seung-won in the second half. However, he collapsed in pain while turning after the goal and was stretchered off.
Long striker Lee Young-jun (Gimcheon Sangmu)스포츠토토 had a heavy shoulder. With Park Seung-ho’s departure, his role has become even bigger. His teammates showed their support by holding Park’s jersey for a starting photo just before the start of the match against the Gambia, but unfortunately, he will no longer be able to play with them.
Kim Eun-jung’s U-20 team will now face Ecuador in the round of 16 on Feb. 2. South Korea finished second in Group F with a 2-1 win over France, a 2-2 draw with Honduras, and a 0-0 draw with the Gambia.
Meanwhile, Kim Eun-jung-ho’s travel was delayed beyond the charter arrangements. “The U-20 team was scheduled to depart for Santiago del Estero for the round of 16 at 3 p.m. local time on the 29th, but was informed by the tournament organizers that the departure time had been changed to 10 a.m. (10 p.m. KST) on the 30th due to problems with the charter flight provided by FIFA,” the KFA said.
In addition to South Korea, several other countries, including Gambia and Italy, have also reportedly had their departure times changed due to charter issues.
