Tottenham’s Son Heung-min hoping to complete military service in South Korea during Premier League break
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min is hoping to carry out his mandatory four-week national service following his return to South Korea.
The 27-year-old travelled back to his home country last week following football’s shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, but is waiting for confirmation that the Premier League suspension will be extended beyond 30 April.
Son, currently in a two-week quarantine after flying in from London last weekend, by law must serve a four-week national service in the South Korean military.
The service was set to last 21 months, but Son earned an exemption in 2018 when he was part of the South Korea team that won the Asian Games.
Son is currently recovering from a broken arm, but will see this break as a perfect opportunity to carry out his service without it impacting his playing career.
He hopes to start on 20 April and is likely to be serving in the Military Corps.
The Premier League is widely expected to suspend the season beyond its current date at the end of the month as meetings with the English Football League, Professional Footballers’ Association and League Managers’ Association continue this week.
That would allow Son a window to complete his service and then return to the UK in time for the resumption of the league, whenever that might be.
Team-mate Steven Bergwijn was also permitted by Spurs to travel home to the Netherlands ahead of the birth of his first child.
Earlier this week, Tottenham announced they would cut the wages of non-playing staff at the club by 20 per cent and place employees on furlough “where appropriate”.
PA
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