Tottenham star Heung-min Son to miss League Cup semi-final second leg against Chelsea after Asian Cup call-up

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Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP20 December 2018

Heung-min Son will miss the second leg of Tottenham's League Cup semi-final against Chelsea and possibly the club's first game in their new stadium after being named in the South Korea squad for next month's Asian Cup.

Son, who scored the opening goal as Spurs beat Arsenal 2-0 in Wednesday's quarter-final, will join the national team in the UAE following the League game against Manchester United on January 13. If, as expected, South Korea reach the final, he will miss the match at Stamford Bridge, as well as the League fixtures against Fulham, Watford and Newcastle and a potential FA Cup fourth-round.

He could also be absent for Spurs' first game in their new 62,062-seat stadium, which may be Newcastle's visit on February 2 – the day after the Asian Cup final. Spurs have confirmed the United game will be held at Wembley and they expect an update from contractors on the progress of the £1billion project in the week starting January 7, after which they hope to be in a position to announce two test events.

The Asian Cup, the continent's most prestigious tournament, is contested by 24 nations and runs from January 5. Son will miss South Korea's first two group games against the Philippines on January 7 and Kyrgyz Republic four days later as part of the agreement struck by Spurs and the KFA to release the forward for the Asian Games. He will join the squad in time for their final group game against China.

It will be Son's third international in six months after he helped South Korea to finish above Germany in the group stage at this summer's World Cup before inspiring them to a gold medal at the Asian Games in Indonesia in August and September. He missed three Spurs matches but his medal earned him precious exemption from South Korea's mandatory two-year military service.

Son's absence will be a further blow to Spurs' already-thin squad in the New Year, although manager Mauricio Pochettino continued to make his group look far stronger than last season, despite not signing a single player in the summer.

Son himself impressed at centre-forward in Harry Kane's absence from the start on Wednesday, while Paulo Gazzaniga has emerged as an excellent back-up to captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. The Argentine played a part in both goals at the Emirates Stadium, as well as making fine saves to deny Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey in the first half.

Elsewhere, Juan Foyth and Ben Davies have emerged as credible options at centre-half, while Pochettino has reintegrated Danny Rose, Toby Alderweireld and Moussa Sissoko, who were largely sidelined last season. Youngsters Kyle Walker-Peters and Oliver Skipp have both started games in the past week, and Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama are nearing returns to fitness

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