Mask makes it difficult for me to see ball but I wear it because my parents are worried: Son Heung-min

Son has to wear the mask after undergoing surgery to stabilise a fracture around his left eye due to an injury he had sustained in Tottenham’s 2-1 Champions League tie at Olympique de Marseille in November following an aerial clash.

Tottenham's Son Heung-min runs during the English FA Cup soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

Tottenham star Son Heung-min said that his protective mask makes it difficult for him to see during matches but he wears it so that his parents are not worried.

Talking to The Evening Standard, he said “Obviously, it’s not the same as when I play without the mask. My vision is still okay, but when the ball is coming to me, it’s sometimes annoying, because I can’t see the ball because of the mask. It’s not really bothering me, but it’s not the best.

“If I’m alone, obviously, I would play without the mask, but my parents, my family, my friends watching back in South Korea are all worried. Obviously, it’s a risk if someone hits me again. They (my parents) didn’t say you should wear it or whatever, but we were having dinner [after the Villa game] and they said, ‘Um, what happened with the mask?,’ he said, recalling his frustrating evening against Aston Villa.

Story continues below this ad

Son had taken off his mask after just 20 minutes during the 2-0 defeat by Aston Villa on New Year’s Day. “Against Villa, I was really frustrated, because I received the ball and then suddenly I lost the ball, because I couldn’t see it. I was just angry,” he said.

“Obviously, they’re (parents) worried. And also the physios and doctors said after the Villa game, ‘It’s your decision, but we recommend you should still be wearing the mask’, because the risk is still high, because it’s just seven weeks since the operation,” the South Korean star added.

Son has to wear the mask after undergoing surgery to stabilise a fracture around his left eye due to an injury he had sustained in Tottenham’s 2-1 Champions League tie at Olympique de Marseille in November following an aerial clash.