Bull Has Fallen: Hwang Hee-chan Injury Threatens Korea’s World Cup Hopes

Wolverhampton manager official announcement on the 11th

[서울=뉴시스] Reporter Kim Jin-yeop = ‘Bull’ Hwang Hee-chan (30, Wolverhampton) has been unable to play for a while due to a calf injury. Korean soccer is also on alert ahead of the FIFA North and Central America World Cup. Wolverhampton will play an away game against Nottingham Forest in the 26th round of the EPL in the 2025-2026 season at the City Ground in Nottingham, England at 4:30 a.m. (Korean time) on the 12th. It is a game that is attracting attention as it is a match between Wolverhampton, last place in the league (8 points), and Nottingham, 17th place in the league (26 points), to survive in the lower tier. However, Wolverhampton’s main striker, Hwang Hee-chan, has collapsed due to injury, making it impossible for Wolverhampton to use its elite team. Hwang Hee-chan has played in 24 games for Gong Seok-jin this season, scoring 2 goals and 3 assists. However, in the 25th round match against Chelsea (1-3 loss) played at home on the 8th, he collapsed after complaining of pain in his calf muscles in the 43rd minute of the first half when his team was down 0-3. In the end, Hwang Hee-chan was replaced by Ladislav Krejic. On the 11th, the day before the game against Nottingham, Wolverhampton coach Rob Edwards held an official press conference before the game and announced, “Charney (Hwang Hee-chan’s nickname) is unlikely to be able to play for a few weeks. He has a calf injury.” He added, “We plan to re-examine in a few weeks and check the condition. (Still) it will probably take a few weeks.” Wolverhampton is in a hurry to escape from the bottom, and a red flag has been raised not only for Hwang Hee-chan, who is suffering from repeated injuries in his 30s, but also for the Korean national soccer team led by coach Hong Myung-bo. Hwang Hee-chan was unable to join Hong Myeong-bo due to frequent injuries recently. Last October, he suffered a calf injury during the call-up period and was unable to play. It seemed like he was feeling better again, but he got injured again.

With the North and Central America World Cup being held in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico just four months away, coach Hong’s concern is that Hwang Hee-chan, a key member of the national team, is in poor condition. In particular, Hwang Hee-chan’s biggest advantage is his aggressive breakthrough using strength and speed, but repeated leg injuries are a factor that raises concerns that his performance may decline. Hong Myung-boho will play a friendly match with Cote d’Ivoire in England at the end of next month and then move to Austria to play an international match against Austria in March. Based on Hwang Hee-chan’s standards, the travel distance is not far. It appears that whether or not Hong Myung-bo will be called up will be decided depending on Hwang Hee-chan’s recovery and condition.
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