Hwang Hee-chan, Out for 6 Weeks due to Hamstring Injury
HWANG HEE-CHAN, OUT FOR 6 WEEKS DUE TO HAMSTRING INJURY... LOOKS LIKE HE WON"T BE ABLE TO PLAY AGAINST THAILAND IN THE WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Hwang Hee-chan excluded from the list" Wolverhampton loses 0-3 to Newcastle in an empty ball.
It appears that national team striker Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) will not be able to participate in the second round of the Asian region qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup to be held this month.
He injured his hamstring (the muscle behind his thigh) and was ruled out of playing for six weeks.
Wolverhampton coach Gary O"Neill reported Hwang Hee-chan"s condition after finishing the 27th round away game of the 2023-2024 English Professional Football Premier League (EPL) against Newcastle United held at St. James Park in Newcastle, England on the 3rd (Korean time).
Coach O"Neill said, "It will likely take six weeks for Hwang Hee-chan to recover.
It is a disaster for us at this point."
Hwang Hee-chan injured his hamstring in the English Football Association (FA) Cup round of 16 home game against Brighton & Hove Albion on the 29th of last month.
Hwang Hee-chan, who fell to the ground alone in the 9th minute of the second half after making a pass to develop an attack without any special collision, suffered while holding the back of his left thigh, and was replaced by Neto after checking his condition with the medical team.
Even if the recovery period announced by Coach O"Neill is counted from immediately after the injury, it is virtually impossible for Hwang Hee-chan to return within this month.
Hwang Hee-chan is expected to be able to compete until the middle of next month.
If this happens, they will not be able to participate in the North and Central America World Cup qualifier two-game series against Thailand, which will be held at 8 p.m. on the 21st of this month at Seoul World Cup Stadium and at 9:30 p.m. on the 26th at Rajamangaral Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
With the departure of Hwang Hee-chan, coach Hwang Seon-hong, who took over as temporary head coach of the national team, is expected to face deeper concerns.
Coach Hwang will announce the national team list for the match against Thailand on the 11th.
Hamstrings are a chronic injury area for Hwang Hee-chan.
Hwang Hee-chan has suffered several hamstring injuries, including in February and August of last year and during the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
With Hwang Hee-chan excluded from the playing list, coach O"Neill selected Jean-Richnec Bellegarde, a former member of the French under-23 national team, as the attacking line-up, along with Neto and Pablo Sarabia.
However, Wolverhampton suffered from empty balls, with only three effective shots in total, and lost 0-3 to Newcastle.
Just 14 minutes into the game, Newcastle"s main gun Alexander Isak conceded a goal, and in the 33rd minute of the first half, he gave up the second goal to Anthony Gordon.
Newcastle took the lead early by making it 2-0 in the first half, and even defender Tino Libramento scored just before the end of the game, winning by three goals.
Wolverhampton is in tears due to injuries to their offensive line.
Brazilian striker Mateusz Cunha, who has been working with Hwang Hee-chan in Wolverhampton"s front line, also injured his hamstring in the middle of last month, and it is unclear whether he will return within this month.
The two players played such a big role in the attack that they scored 11 goals this season and were named as Wolverhampton"s top scorers.
Wolverhampton (38 points), with 11 wins, 5 draws, and 11 losses due to a complete defeat on this day, was ranked 10th.
Newcastle (12 wins, 4 draws, 11 losses, 40 points), who earned 3 points, rose to 8th place, beating Wolverhampton and Brighton (39 points).
Kim Ji-su, a central defender born in 2004, was on the Brentford squad for a long time, but was unable to play on the pitch.
On this day, Brentford faced Chelsea at the G-Tech Community Stadium in London and drew 2-2.
Kim Ji-soo, who mainly played in the second-team B team, has not yet received any playing time in the EPL this season.
Brentford (26 points), with 7 wins, 5 draws, and 15 losses, was in 15th place, and Chelsea (10 wins, 6 draws, 10 losses, 36 points) was in 11th place.