The injury of Ulsan’s Uhm Won-sang, who was brought down by a strong tackle from an opposing Uzbek player in the men’s soccer semifinal match at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, is not considered serious.
“Uhm Won-sang was diagnosed with a mild left ankle sprain,” an official from the U-24 national team, which is competing in the Asian Games, said on Friday.
Uhm Won-sang played in the men’s soccer semifinal against Uzbekistan at the Asian Games at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou the previous day, but was replaced by Ahn Jae-joon (Bucheon) midway through the second half due to the injury.
After falling to the ground in the 17th minute of the second half following a strong back tackle from opponent Ibrokhimkalil Yuldoshev, he was able to get up and play, only to be brought down again by an opponent less than three minutes later.
After the game ended in a 2-1 win for South Korea, Uhm Won-sang was carried off the field by a staff member, raising some concerns, but for the time being, they were allayed.
However, a representative from the national team added, “We’ll have to wait and see if Uhm Won-sang will be able to play in the final against Japan on July 7.”
Meanwhile, the players, who advanced to the final after defeating ‘nemesis’ Uzbekistan the day before, spent the day recovering.
They visited a Korean restaurant for lunch, where they ate pork belly and yukgaejang, and later exercised on foam rollers and took walks at the team hotel, officials said.
The team will play the fateful final against Japan at the Kowloon Sports Center from 9 p.m. (KST) on Sept. 7 after completing their final warm-up on Sept. 6. 스포츠토토