SON HEUNG-MIN dislocated his finger in a bust-up with a team-mate on the eve of South Korea’s shock Asian Cup exit.
A row erupted over dinner ahead of the semi-final meeting with Jordan, which South Korea surprisingly lost 2-0.
SunSport understands some of the younger members of the squad ate their dinner quickly so that they could enjoy a game of ping pong.
But star man Son, the captain of the national team, was unhappy with the players leaving early with meals often used as a chance for team bonding.
PSG ace Lee Kang-in, 22, was among the younger members Son took issue with.
After an exchange of words an altercation broke out which left the Tottenham ace, 31, with a dislocated finger.
A source told SunSport: “The row erupted from nowhere.
“A few of the younger players ate very quickly and left the rest of the squad to play ping pong
“Son asked them to come back and sit down when some disrespectful things were said to him.
“Within seconds players the row spilled into the dinning area and players were being pulled apart.
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“Son badly injured his finger trying to calm everyone down.”
The defeat to Jordan was totally unexpected, with South Korea ranked 64 places above them and rated as the third best team in Asia.
Incredibly, South Korea failed to have a single shot on target during last week’s semi-final in Qatar.
Son was forced to play the game with two of his fingers on his right hand strapped together.
He’s continued to wear the strapping since returning to Tottenham where he came on at the weekend in the 2-1 win over Brighton.
South Korea’s Asian Cup journey
SOUTH KOREA were among the favourites to win the Asian Cup which was eventually lifted by Qatar.
GROUP STAGE
South Korea 3 Bahrain 1
Jordan 2 South Korea 2
South Korea 3 Malaysia 3
ROUND OF 16
Saudi Arabia 1 South Korea 1 (2-4 on penalties)
QUARTER FINAL
Australia 1 South Korea 2
SEMI FINAL
Jordan 2 South Korea 0
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
