Tottenham team news: Son Heung-min to miss Carabao Cup semi-final second leg with Chelsea after being called up for Asian Cup

The 26-year-old will join up with his national team in the United Arab Emirates following the game with Manchester United on January 13

Ben Burrows
Thursday 20 December 2018 05:41 EST
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Son Heung-min will miss three games for Tottenham next month - including the second-leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final with Chelsea - after being called up by South Korea for the Asian Cup.

The 26-year-old, who scored as Spurs knocked out rivals Arsenal in the quarter-final on Wednesday night, will join up with his national team in the United Arab Emirates following the game with Manchester United on January 13.

He will then miss the Premier League clashes with Fulham and Watford before the second-leg against Chelsea on January 22.

Should South Korea make the final on February 1 he could also then miss the home game with Newcastle a day later.

However, Son will be unable to play the first two games under an agreement reached between Tottenham and the Korea Football Association.

Spurs agreed to release the midfielder for the Asian Games football competition in August and September, which is not on Fifa's official calendar, on the condition he misses the early part of the Asian Cup.

The squad features 14 of the 23 players who travelled to Russia for the World Cup in June, while manager Paulo Bento has also shown faith in those who have helped him build a six-game unbeaten run since taking over in August.

The Koreans, who finished runners-up to hosts Australia four years ago, start their Group C campaign against the Philippines on Jan 7, before facing Kyrgyzstan four days later and China on Jan 16.

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