▲황선홍 항저우 아시안게임 남자축구대표팀 감독 (뉴시스) |
Head coach Hwang Sun-hong has expressed his frustration at not knowing when Lee Kang-in (22, Paris Saint-Germain) will join the team.
"PSG hasn't officially told me when they will send Lee Kang-in," Hwang, who is in charge of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games team, told reporters at the Paju National Training Center (NFC) on Thursday, adding, "I'm also frustrated. I'm communicating with (Lee) personally, and he wants to join the team as soon as possible."
Lee, who suffered a thigh injury at the start of the season, has recently joined the team's training sessions to improve his fitness. He missed two back-to-back A-League matches against Wales on Aug. 8 and Saudi Arabia on Aug. 13.
PSG was initially expected to update the national team on Lee's participation in the Asian Games on Nov. 13, but an email from the club on the same day provided an update on Lee's condition but no answer on when he would join the squad, according to the Korea Football Association. South Korea's first game of the tournament is on Sept. 19 against Kuwait. That's less than a week away.
"We've done it before, but I think PSG is trying to pull things in their favor, so we need to make adjustments," Hwang said. "Hopefully, I can coordinate with Lee Kang-in for one or two group games. If he joins us after the tournament, there could be a lot of situations," he said, adding, "It's frustrating that we can't make a plan until the timing is decided."
South Korea, who are in Group E of the Asian Games, will play Kuwait on Sept. 19, Thailand on Sept. 21 and Bahrain on Sept. 24 at the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in Zhejiang, China. South Korea will attempt to win its third consecutive Asian Games men's soccer title, following Incheon 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang 2018. Hwang Sun-hong will depart for China on Sept. 16.
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