South Korean midfielder Koo Ja-Cheol out of Asian Cup
Brisbane (Australia) (AFP) - South Korea coach Uli Stielike faces more selection headaches ahead of the Asian Cup quarter-finals after midfielder Koo Ja-Cheol was ruled out for the rest of the tournament, Yonhap reported Sunday.
The Koreans, who had already lost winger Lee Chung-Yong with a leg fracture and been hit by a flu bug, upset hosts Australia 1-0 on Saturday to top group A, potentially opening up a less treacherous passage to the final.
The German-based Koo fell victim to a crunching challenge, tearing a ligament in his right elbow according to Yonhap news agency, in a fierce encounter with the hosts in Brisbane.
Teammate Park Joo-ho caught an elbow in the face and left the pitch with blood pouring from his nose.
Park came back on after being patched up but Stielike withdrew him soon afterwards with the player displaying signs of concussion, South Korea officials told local media.
Wildcard striker Lee Jeong-Hyeop's brilliantly taken winner provided a silver lining for German Stielike, who has compared monitoring his team's injury crisis to checking the daily weather forecast.
South Korea, who reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2002 but are bidding to end a 55-year title drought at Asia's showcase competition, won all three of their first-round matches 1-0.
They face either Saudi Arabia or Uzbekistan in the last eight.
