This image provided by the Korea Professional Football League on July 23, 2024, shows the Team K League squad for an exhibition match against Tottenham Hotspur on July 31, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Former Manchester United and current FC Seoul midfielder Jesse Lingard will miss an upcoming exhibition match against Tottenham Hotspur due to an injury, officials announced Tuesday.
The Korea Professional Football League (K League) unveiled the final 22-man squad for “Team K League” that will take on Spurs on July 31 at Seoul World Cup Stadium. It will be the first of two matches during the annual “Coupang Play Series.” Organized by the namesake streaming platform, the summer event brings European football clubs to South Korea for preseason contests.
Spurs, captained by South Korean star Son Heung-min, will also play the German giants Bayern Munich, featuring South Korean defender Kim Min-jae, on Aug. 3 at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Lingard had been voted onto the starting XI for Team K League last week, garnering the second-most votes behind only Suwon FC forward Lee Seung-woo. But Lingard suffered a hamstring injury during a match on July 13 and FC Seoul said he will miss about four weeks.
Another FC Seoul player in Team K League’s starting lineup, Ki Sung-yueng, will also sit out the Spurs match with an Achilles’ heel injury.
The K League said these two players have been replaced by Jeong Ho-yeon of Gwangju FC and Oberdan of Pohang Steelers.
In addition to the starting XI, fans voted Gangwon FC forward Yang Min-hyuk as their choice for an under-22 slot. The 18-year-old sensation is 10th in the league scoring with seven goals.
The league also announced 10 reserves on Tuesday, selected by Team K League coaching staff. The group includes Stanislav Iljutcenko of FC Seoul, who leads the K League 1 this year with 12 goals, and Anderson of Suwon FC, who has more assists than anyone this season with 11.
(Yonhap)
