Paris Saint-Germain’s ‘Golden Boy’ Lee Kang-In will join the Asian Games squad without any experience.
PSG allowed Lee to leave early for the Hangzhou Asian Games. The Korea Football Association officially announced on Friday, saying, “After discussions with Lee Kang-in’s club PSG, it was finally agreed on Thursday night that Lee Kang-in will join the Asian Games team after the end of the European Champions League home match against Dortmund on May 20.” “Lee will travel to Hangzhou, China on the 20th to join the Asian Games team.” 소닉카지노
Initially, PSG had informed Lee that he would be released after the sixth round of the 2023-2024 French Ligue 1 season against Marseille on May 25. In this case, Lee would have been available after the round of 16. In the worst case scenario, he could play from the quarterfinals. As Hwang’s worries deepened, a solution emerged. “After receiving PSG’s email on the 13th, we discussed with PSG until late at night on the 14th to allow the player to play in the Asian Games, subject to rescheduling the Asian Cup. Finally, on the night of the 14th, we received an official response from PSG stating that they will allow us to join the Asian Games team on the 20th without any other preconditions.”
Lee Kang-in is scheduled to arrive in Jinhua, China, the host city for the tournament’s soccer events, on Nov. 21. After traveling to Hangzhou, China, for the final match on Sept. 16, Hwang will open the group stage with the first match against Kuwait on Sept. 19. Lee Kang-in’s arrival is scheduled for the second game of the group stage against Thailand. Therefore, Lee is expected to be available for the third match against Bahrain on the 24th after acclimatization and conditioning.
All eyes are on the match against Dortmund on the 20th. It’s the last chance to get an idea of Lee’s status. As it turns out, Lee has been groaning with injury. PSG announced on the club’s official website on March 22 that “Tuesday’s medical update will focus on Lee. Lee has injured his left quadriceps. He will remain on the sidelines until the end of the September A match. Earlier, the French media also focused on Lee’s injury. L’Equipe reported that “PSG received bad news ahead of the third round match against Reims: Lee Kang-in is injured.
This is his second injury since joining PSG. On July 22, Lee started a closed-door friendly against Le Havre AC and went down with an injury. The lively midfielder grabbed his right hamstring in the 43rd minute and had to be substituted. As French media outlet RMC Sport put it, “Lee had a great debut for PSG. He quickly settled into the tempo of the game. He tried to help his teammates in the attack. However, he felt a pain in his thigh and had to come off as a substitute.
Lee joined the East Asia Tour that followed, but he didn’t play. He barely trained. After missing the Japan tour and focusing on his recovery, Lee finally made his comeback in South Korea. He came on as a 22nd minute substitute against Jeonbuk Hyundai and played 20 minutes. He wasn’t at his best, but he showed that he’s recovering quickly from his injury. Amidst the chaos of Neymar’s departure and Mbappe’s return, Lee established himself as a key player for PSG.
He started the opening game. Lee started the opening match against Lorient and had a brilliant performance. Playing on the flank, he was the most threatening PSG player on the pitch. After the match, Lee was named Lorient’s Player of the Match by the Ligue 1 secretariat. He started the next game against Toulouse. However, he didn’t bring the expected attacking points and instead received the lowest score of the starting lineup. After two games as a flanker, there was talk that Lee could move to midfield with the return of key flankers like Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, but injuries put an end to that.
Fortunately, the recovery was quick. “I received an official email and heard that he is recovering quickly,” said Huang Sunhong, head coach of the Hangzhou Asian Games team, who has been in constant communication with Lee Kang-in. “I understand that he has been training with a ball since the first week of this month. He is preparing to make his comeback in time for the weekend games after the A match in September.” Lee made his first appearance at the team’s training center on Sept. 12. In a video released by PSG, Lee was seen working with a trainer on physical exercises on the indoor training field before heading out onto the pitch to work on passing with his teammates. He even took a shot at a small goal. Lee returned to team training for the first time since his injury and showed that he is getting back to full fitness. Along with the video, PSG tagged Lee with an emoji that read “ON!” and a soccer ball. It was an indication that his return was imminent.
It looked like his comeback would be against Dortmund. However, according to the ‘Predicted lineup for the first day of the European Champions League’ released by UEFA on its official website on the 18th, Lee’s name was not in the PSG starting lineup against Dortmund. Manuel Ugarte, Weren Zaire-Emerick Aubameyang, and Vitina are expected to line up in the midfield alongside the Dembele-Lang Dal Kolo Mbappe trio. Instead, Lee Kang-In was named on the list of probable absentees. UEFA predicted that Lee will miss out alongside Fresnel Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes, Marco Asensio and Nordy Mukhiela.
Lee was given the number 18 in the squad announced the day before. It’s the same number he’s worn for his entire national team career. While Hwang is focused on the group stage, the return of Lee Kang-in will be a key factor in the gold medal match. However, if UEFA is to be believed, he is likely to miss the game against Dortmund. While it’s unfortunate that he won’t get any game time, it’s good news that he won’t reaggravate his injury by playing too much. For now, Lee is training with the team in preparation for the game.