‘Golden Boy’ Lee Kang-in is returning to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG-France) after a month-long absence from the national team. He comes with a gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and three A-match goals to his name.
Lee left PSG on Sept. 21 (KST) to join the Hangzhou Asian Games squad and was immediately called up to the A team after the tournament, where he played two matches in Korea in October.
Lee will be back in action for the first time in nearly a month when PSG host Strasbourg in the ninth round of the 2023-24 Ligue 1 on October 22 at 12pm.
During his time away from PSG, Lee had a lot going on.
First, he was a key member of Hwang Sun-hong’s Asian Games team, which won gold.
It was Lee’s first gold medal as an adult. On top of that, he was granted a special exemption from military service, allowing him to continue his career in Europe without interruption. Both are priceless assets.토토사이트
After the Asian Games, Lee immediately joined the Klinsmanns, scoring his debut goal in his 15th A match against Tunisia on Oct. 13 and scoring a multi-goal performance in the 4-0 victory.
He followed that up with a goal and an assist in a 6-0 win over Vietnam on the 17th, his second straight game with a goal. In addition to his offensive points, Lee also impressed with his breakaway and breakthrough play. It’s no exaggeration to say that Lee was the player who looked the sharpest and most in-form in the two games.
When he left PSG a month ago, Lee’s position was somewhat precarious: He had been sidelined with a quadriceps injury since the second leg against Toulouse on Aug. 20, and only made a 10-minute appearance in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage first leg against Borussia Dortmund (Germany) on Sept. 20.
But now, he’s back on track to make the leap into the starting lineup. The gradual recovery from the Asian Games has allowed him to fully recover from his injury and he showed that he is back to 100 percent in the two matches for the A team. What’s more, his confidence is skyrocketing as he returns home with a tournament win and a debut A-match goal.
Before returning to PSG, Lee said, “I have to compete again. I might not be able to play right away, and I don’t know what will happen. But I will always be in the best shape so that I can give my best performance,” he said.