Son Heung-min completes national service in South Korea

Football

The 27-year-old has spent three weeks with the Military Corps on the island of Jeju and will return to Tottenham in the coming days.

Tottenham forward Son Heung-min will return to London next week after completing a three-week stint of national service in South Korea.

The 27-year-old has been serving with the Military Corps on the island of Jeju, having been required by law to carry out his duty by his 28th birthday.

He was due to serve 21 months but earned an exemption after being part of his national team which won the Asian Games in 2018 and, as a result, only had to complete three weeks.

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[손흥민 선수 기초군사훈련 모습 공개] . 손흥민 선수는 지난 4월 20일부터 5월 8일까지 총 3주간 해병대 제9여단에서 주관하는 20-1차 보충역 기초군사훈련에 참가하여 훈련을 무사히 마치고 수료했습니다. . 훈련은 코로나19 예방 차원에서 입소부터 비공개로 진행됐으며, 내부훈련 또한 코로나19 예방차원에서 언론의 현장 취재도 제한했습니다. . 그러나 국민 여러분들과 국내•외 언론의 많은 관심과 요청에 따라 손흥민 선수 측과 협의하여 손흥민 선수 훈련 과정 중 일부 사진을 공개하기로 했습니다. . [사진설명] 1. 해병대 상징탑 앞에서 거수경례하고있는 모습 2. 해병대 상징탚 앞에서 화이팅하고있는 모습 3. 개인화기 영점사격 실시 중인 모습 4. 단독무장행군을 하고 있는 모습 5. 총검술 숙달중인 손흥민선수 6. 단독무장행군 중 화이팅포즈 취하는 모습 . #해병대 #ROKMC #코로나19예방 #손흥민 #손흥민선수 #기초군사훈련 #끝 #응원하겠습니다

A post shared by 대한민국 해병대(R.O.K. Marine Corps) (@rokmchq) on May 7, 2020 at 6:20pm PDT

Son was presented with an award after finishing in the top five for performance of new recruits and achieved a perfect record in shooting.

He will next fly back to the United Kingdom after the weekend where he must quarantine for two weeks as per Government guidelines.

His fortnight of self-isolation, his third separate lockdown since the coronavirus pandemic began, could impinge on a potential return to training.

With the Premier League’s ‘Project Restart’ hoping to see the top-flight resume in early June, that could mean a return to group training later this month, which Son could miss.

Son Heung-min broke his arm against Aston Villa
Son Heung-min broke his arm against Aston Villa (Nick Potts/PA)

However, the pandemic has had its benefits for Son, who was set to miss the rest of the season through injury had it not been suspended.

The South Korea international suffered a broken arm in February and returned home for an operation, with boss Jose Mourinho expecting him out for the rest of the campaign.

But once it was clear there was going to be a lengthy break Son moved quickly to arrange his national service, bringing it forward from the summer.

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Stay safe💙#hometeam @adidas

A post shared by Son HeungMin(손흥민)🇰🇷 (@hm_son7) on Mar 31, 2020 at 2:00am PDT

Son’s time with the Corps was not just a public relations exercise, though, as he was exposed to tear gas, went on lengthy hikes and was trained how to fire guns during his time on the island.

Meanwhile, Eric Dier has until 6pm on Friday to appeal against a Football Association charge of misconduct.

Dier has been sanctioned after climbing into the stands to break up a confrontation involving his brother and a Spurs supporter following the FA Cup penalty-shootout defeat to Norwich in early March.

If found guilty, the England international faces a lengthy ban, with the FA citing that the incident is being treated as “non-standard”, meaning the punishment will be decided by an independent panel.

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