South Korea's hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup were hit Tuesday with news that winger Yeom Ki-hun will be sidelined for the next three months after fracturing his foot.
The 24-year-old, who scored two goals in the East Asian championships in February, suffered the injury in a K-League match for his club Ulsan Hyundai on Sunday and will undergo surgery in Japan, Yonhap news agency reported.
It means he will miss Korea's next four qualifying matches.
The Koreans, who made the World Cup semi-finals in 2002 and who have qualified for the past six World Cups, are in a group alongside North Korea, Turkmenistan, and Jordan.
In their opening two matches, they beat Turkmenistan 4-0 and drew 0-0 with North Korea. They next play Jordan at home on June 1.
Sapa-AFP