Heung-Min Son reveals he's 'frustrated' with having to wear his face mask | OneFootball

Tottenham forward Heung-Min Son has opened up on his frustrations with playing with his protective face mask.

The 30-year-old fractured his eye socket in early November and has been forced to wear the equipment ever since, notably throwing it off his face in celebration after scoring against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

In a recent interview with the Evening Standard, Son has now revealed he finds the mask a hindrance to his game.

“Obviously, it’s not the same as when I play without the mask. My vision is still okay, but when the ball is coming to me, it’s sometimes annoying, because I can’t see the ball because of the mask. It’s not really bothering me, but it’s not the best,” he said.

“Against Villa, I was really frustrated, because I received the ball and then suddenly I lost the ball, because I couldn’t see it. I was just angry.

“If I’m alone, obviously, I would play without the mask, but my parents, my family, my friends watching back in South Korea are all worried. Obviously, it’s a risk if someone hits me again.

“They [my parents] didn’t say you should wear it or whatever, but we were having dinner [after the Villa game] and they said, ‘Um, what happened with the mask?’

“Obviously, they’re worried. And also the physios and doctors said after the Villa game, ‘It’s your decision, but we recommend you should still be wearing the mask’, because the risk is still high, because it’s just seven weeks since the operation.”

Son then went on to discuss his struggling form with Tottenham, having only scored four times this season after winning the golden boot last year.

“Frustrated is the wrong word, to be honest! First of all, I felt a bit sorry for the team, my team-mates, the fans, because the expectation is obviously higher than what I’ve been doing,” he said.

“It [the goal] was obviously like a weight off my shoulders going away. I’m grateful that first of all we won the game. That’s the most important thing. It’s a really difficult place to get three points here, so I’m really happy to win this game.

“The north London derby [on January 15] has special meaning for the players and the fans,” he added. “We didn’t perform well when we played there, so we have big homework to do. We’ll get ready for the Portsmouth game first, but then we’ll get ready for that game.”