South Korea striker Lee Dong-gook has been named in his country’s final 23-man squad for the World Cup this summer, despite being currently injured with a thigh problem.
Coach Huh Jung-moo admits his lack of attacking options meant Lee, who is expected to be fit in about a week, had to be included in the line-up.
“The fact that I don’t have a lot of options in terms of strikers is one of the reasons I chose (Lee),” said Huh.
“Even if he can’t play against Greece in the first game, I think he’ll be ready for the second and third games with Argentina and Nigeria.”
Huh trimmed his provisional 26-man squad down to 23 with the removal of defender Shin Hyung-min, midfielder Koo Ja-cheol and forward Lee Keun-ho following South Korea’s 1-0 defeat to Belarus on Sunday.
The coach revealed Lee Keun-ho had struggled to make an impact in the warm-up games, while Shin had not performed well against Belarus.
“I had high hopes for Shin Hyung-min but he just wasn’t very good against Belarus.”
Defender Kang Ming-soo has also been called up after Kwak Tae-hwi was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.
Squad:
Kim Young-kwang (Ulsan), Lee Woon-jae (Suwon), Jung Sung-ryong (Seongnam); Kim Dong-jin (Ulsan), Kim Hyung-il (Pohang), Oh Beom-seok (Ulsan), Lee Young-pyo (Al Hilal), Lee Jung-soo (Kashima), Cha Du-ri (Freiburg) Cho Yong-hyung (Jeju United) Kang Min-soo (Suwon); Ki Sung-yong (Celtic), Kim Bo-kyung (Oita), Kim Nam-il (Tomsk), Kim Jae-sung (Pohang), Kim Jung-woo (Gwangju), Lee Chung-yong (Bolton Wanderers), Park Ji-sung (Manchester United); Park Chu-young (Monaco), Ahn Jung-hwan (Dalian), Lee Seung-ryul (Seoul), Yeom Ki-hun, (Suwon), Lee Dong-gook (Jeonbuk).
