Football round-up: Tottenham’s Son for surgery, West Ham reschedule Premier League opener, Redknapp wants Terry

In other news, South Korea dismiss manager after series of defeats in 2018 World Cup qualifying.

South Korea's Son Heung-min receive medical treatment during his team's 2018 World Cup qualifying against Qatar. Katim Jaafar / AFP

Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min will have surgery this week after breaking his right arm during South Korea’s World Cup qualifying 3-2 defeat to Qatar, the Korean Football Association (KFA) said on Thursday.

Son, 24, left the field in obvious pain in the 33rd minute of Tuesday’s match in Doha, clutching his right forearm after an aerial challenge.

“He had his right forearm fractured and will undergo surgery by the end of the week,” Lee Jae-chul, spokesman for KFA told Agence France-Presse, adding they expect it will take about four weeks for him to recover.

Son has been in sparkling form recently, winning the Premier League Player of the Month for April and becoming the only player to win the award twice last season.

He ended the campaign with a total of 21 goals in all competitions for Spurs, including 14 in the Premier League, eclipsing the previous single-season scoring record by an Asian player previously held by compatriot Ki Sung-yeung, who scored eight for Swansea in 2014/15.

Son will return to Tottenham after recovering, Lee said, adding it was unclear whether Son would be fit enough to return to Korea for the crucial final two World Cup qualifiers against group winners Iran on August 31 and five days later against third-placed Uzbekistan.

South Korea dismiss manager Stielike

Sticking with South Korea, they dismissed manager Uli Stielike on Thursday after a shock defeat to Qatar left their World Cup qualification hanging in the balance.

Germany’s Stielike, who has been in charge since 2014, paid the price for a poor run of results including qualifying defeats to China and Iran.

Tuesday’s 3-2 reverse was South Korea’s first loss to Qatar in 32 years and left them in danger of missing direct qualification for Russia 2018.

Lee Yong-soo, chairman of the KFA, also resigned in a shake-up ahead of South Korea’s final two qualifying games.

“As the results of the final World Cup qualification round did not meet our expectation, the KFA and coach Stielike decided to end Stielike’s contract under mutual agreement,” Lee said after a meeting in Seoul. “We spoke with Stielike and notified him before the press conference. Stielike said that he respects any decision reached by the technical committee.”

Lee said Stielike would probably be replaced by a South Korean manager, explaining time was too short for a foreigner to get to know the team before next year’s World Cup.

West Ham reschedule first home game next Premier League season

West Ham United’s first home game of the 2017/18 Premier League campaign against Southampton will be rescheduled as the London Stadium undergoes renovation following the conclusion of the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships on August 13.

Next season’s fixtures were released on Wednesday and West Ham start their campaign at Manchester United followed by a home fixture against Southampton on August 19.

However, the London club believe their stadium will not be ready in time as seats and branding material will be modified for the Athletics Championships and need to be restored.

“Our opening fixtures in August will be played away from home as London Stadium welcomes the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships for a once-in-a-generation occasion,” the club said. “Supporters are therefore advised that our second fixture of the campaign, against Southampton, will be rescheduled, with further details to follow.”

“Our first home match at London Stadium next season is set to be the visit of Huddersfield Town on the weekend of September 9.”

Redknapp wants Terry at Birmingham

Former England captain John Terry has been made an offer by second tier outfit Birmingham City, their manager Harry Redknpapp revealed on Thursday.

Terry, 36, is leaving champions Chelsea after 22 trophy-laden years and has attracted interest from Premier League side Bournemouth as well as Birmingham’s Championship rivals Aston Villa.

However, Redknapp told Talksport radio he had persuaded the Birmingham board to make an offer to the central defender, who has said he might hang up his boots altogether.

“He’s a fantastic captain and great leader,” Redknapp said. “We’ve made him a good offer and we have done the best we can. It’s up to John now, but we would love him at Birmingham.”

* Agencies

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