Tottenham's Heung-Min Son Out for 'A Number of Weeks' with Arm Fracture Injury
February 18, 2020
Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed forward Heung-Min Son is expected to be sidelined for "a number of weeks" after fracturing his arm in Sunday's 3-2 win at Aston Villa, although manager Jose Mourinho does not expect him to return this season.
The club released a statement that said the South Korea international will undergo surgery on his right arm and be out of action for the foreseeable future:
"Heung-Min Son is to undergo surgery this week after sustaining a fracture to his right arm.
"The South Korea international suffered the injury during our win against Aston Villa on Sunday.
"Following surgery, our medical staff shall be reviewing management options for Son’s rehabilitation with the player expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks."
Mourinho told reporters that he's "not going to count on him again this season. If he plays two or three games, then it's because he (his press officer) is very optimistic, but I'm not counting on him.”
Son capitalised on a Bjorn Engels error in the fourth minute of injury time at Villa Park, scoring his second of the game to take all three points for Spurs and secure their third successive league victory:
The 27-year-old's absence will be felt particularly with striker Harry Kane also out injured with a torn hamstring.
Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard praised Son for his durability, considering he suffered the arm injury early on against Villa:
Mourinho has deployed Son and Lucas Moura as a makeshift strike force following Kane's injury. That leaves winger Moura as the only recognised senior forward with experience playing up front, while 18-year-old Troy Parrott has played just five minutes of Premier League football.
It's possible January signing Steven Bergwijn could be deployed in a more advanced role, as he did for former club PSV Eindhoven on occasion.
The injury is badly timed—Tottenham prepare to host Bundesliga title contenders RB Leipzig on Wednesday for the first leg of their clash in the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
He'll also be missed for their trip to face derby rivals Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, while it's unknown if he'll be back in time for the reverse leg against Leipzig on March 10.
Spurs are unbeaten in their last seven matches across all competitions and sit just one point outside the Premier League's top four following the win away to Villa.
Son's injury also highlights Tottenham's failure to sign a replacement striker during the winter transfer window despite finding out in early January that Kane would be sidelined until April at the earliest.
The South Korean star was suspended at the start of the season but has 16 goals and nine assists in 32 games across all competitions this season, including five strikes in four Champions League starts.