Celtic star Yang Hyun-jun is dealing with an injury issue while away on international duty with South Korea, adding to concerns over Haissem Hassan. Yang has been away for a couple of weeks already, with the Asian Games taking place from early September and running to the end of the traditional international window.
South Korea, who have won the last three football tournaments at the competition, submitted a young squad of under-23s, as rules dictate, but they were also allowed to include three wildcard selections, which are players over the age limit.
South Korea are now through to the semi-finals after beating Vietnam in the quarter-finals, and pretty comfortably, by a scoreline of 4-0.
They will now wait to see whether they will play Uzbekistan, who are already through, or one of PR China or Thailand, or Japan or North Korea, which are the remaining ties.
But Celtic star Yang has been dealing with an injury of late, which has limited his participation, and he has now disclosed the details of the issue.
He told reporters: "I have a minor injury to my hamstring. Right now, I am preparing with the goal of reaching the semifinals and the finals.
"I was selected as a wild card, but since I haven't been in good physical condition recently and now I'm on top of that with an injury, I feel really sorry for my teammates. I also feel like I'm not being of any help.
"So I tried to be of even a little more help from the bench. I also check on their daily lives to see if they are experiencing any inconveniences, and I try to do whatever they need. The goal is a quick recovery."
Players who win the Asian Games football tournament are exempt from mandatory military duty, which is naturally seen as very valuable for Yang and his young teammates.
Yang has been missed by Celtic
Celtic will be hoping Yang returns fully fit, given he went off to the Asian Games in superb form. He was arguably one of the Bhoys' most reliable performers before setting off, and things obviously haven't gone well for the Hoops since.
Martin O'Neill has struggled to find balance in his attack since, with Sebastian Tounekti struggling on the left in the most part, while James Forrest and Camilo Durán have both had turns there.
Forrest has probably been the biggest threat there, in truth, but Yang will be a start when he returns, and there will be more competition soon, with Jota set to return at the end of next month from his lengthy layoff.
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