SON FIT ENOUGH TO PLAY AGAINST URUGUAY

Son Heung-min will be able to play in South Korea’s opening World Cup match against Uruguay today despite wearing a mask after facial surgery, coach Paulo Bento said.

The Spurs attacker and South Korean skipper had surgery earlier this month after suffering a fracture around his left eye in a collision during a Champions League game.

“Son can play and will be able to play,” Bento said yesterday. It remains to be seen to what extent the South Korean talisman features, with the Portuguese boss cautioning: “He knows and we know that after this injury we cannot take any risks.”

The 30-year-old Son has been training in Qatar in a mask and South Korean fans have been eagerly awaiting updates on his fitness.

At one training session in Doha the mask appeared to be troubling Son as he went through fitness drills with the rest of the squad.

Bento insisted the mask was “natural” for the player, who has scored 35 times in more than 100 internationals and shared the Premier League Golden Boot last season with Liverpool’s Mo Salah.

“The fact he will be wearing a mask is not inconvenient for him,” said Bento.

Uruguay are once again the dark horses of the tournament, with a squad that combines a trusted old guard of players age 35 or above, with exciting young talent eager to make their mark in their first World Cup. They includes Liverpool’s record signing Darwin Nunez, who is expected to be paired up front with the ageing Luis Suarez, a key component in Uruguay’s impressive march to the semi-finals in the 2010 World Cup.

Among 13 debutants will be Real Madrid’s versatile midfielder Federico Valverde and Manchester United’s Facundo Pellistri, who link up with Tottenham’s in-form Rodrigo Bentancur in a midfield for which Uruguay’s squad has plenty of depth.

Switzerland will also hope to secure early points in a tough Group G when they face Cameroon today after a year of solid performances on the European stage.