Advertisement

South Korea striker Lee out of qualifiers after facial fracture

SEOUL (Reuters) - Striker Lee Jeong-hyeop has been ruled out of South Korea's World Cup qualifiers against Laos and Lebanon next month after suffering a compound facial fracture during a domestic league match. Sangju Sangmu forward Lee collided with Gyeongnam FC defender Bae Hyo-sung while contesting an aerial ball during their second-division K. League Challenge match on Wednesday. The 24-year-old, who has scored four goals in 13 appearances for the national team, went down in pain and was carried off. A scan later revealed the fracture. Sagan Tosu's Kim Min-woo, who was part of South Korea's victorious East Asia Cup squad recently, will take Lee's spot in the 23-man squad for the World Cup qualifiers, the Kyodo news agency reported. Uli Stielike's team will meet Laos on Sept. 3 and then Lebanon in Beirut on Sept. 8 in the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. (Writing by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Greg Stutchbury)