Following Son Heung-min’s injury, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has criticized the timing of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Due to a serious eye injury, the South Korean captain was forced to withdraw from Tuesday night’s Champions League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Marseille.
The Korean was struck in the left cheekbone during his team’s victory at the Orange Vélodrome stadium.
Spurs’ number seven had to leave the field due to swelling in his eye after being struck in the left cheekbone during his team’s 2-1 victory, but he was later able to celebrate the team’s last-16 progress.
Clement Lenglet’s second-half header and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s late goal gave Antonio Conte’s team a thrilling victory in France.
Son’s return date has been set for November 24, just four days after the World Cup begins. However, Manchester United’s Raphael Varane and Diogo Jota have withdrawn from the first-ever winter Global tournament due to injuries sustained while playing for their clubs.
During a discussion on CBS Sports, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher criticized FIFA’s decision to move the tournament from its traditional summer time slot to mid-season.
I think it’s an absolute disgrace that the World Cup is in the position it’s in, for lots of reasons, he said.
It was corrupt that Qatar were given the World Cup, we knew that at the time.
They campaigned on having it in the summer, it is impossible there to have a World Cup in the summer with the temperature, it gets moved to the situation where it is now in the middle of the season.
Players who spend their whole lives dreaming of playing in a World Cup and now could be [out injured] – as we’ve seen with Son and players all around the world.
Varane was crying coming off the pitch at Stamford Bridge. That’s how close we are to a World Cup.
An injury, a 10-day or two-week injury, is going to keep players out of a World Cup and it should not be happening, said Carragher.