By Dae-Ro Park = Kevin De Bruyne, a key midfielder for defending English Premier League (EPL) champions Manchester City, suffered a recurrence of his thigh injury in the league opener. Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain-PSG) also suffered a similar injury in pre-season, so measures will need to be taken to prevent a recurrence.
City cruised to a 3-0 victory over Burnley in their EPL opener at Turf Moor in Burnley, England, on 12 December, led by a multi-goal performance from Holland.
City captain Der Bruyne started the game and opened the scoring five minutes in, firing a mid-range effort into the top corner. In the 21st minute, after City had taken a 1-0 lead through Elling Holland’s opener, Der Bruyne was stretchered off the pitch.
Der Bruyne complained of pain in his hamstring. After standing on his back for a while, he handed his captain’s armband to Kyle Walker before being replaced by Kovacic and slowly walking off the field.
After the game, City manager Pep Guardiola acknowledged the recurrence of the injury, saying it was “the same place and position as in the Champions League final last season”.
Der Bruyne also played just 36 minutes in the Champions League final against Inter Milan in June due to a hamstring injury.
Der Bruyne’s injury recurrence on the opening day of the season is a cautionary tale for Lee Kang. Lee, who is set to make his French Ligue 1 debut, also suffered a hamstring injury shortly after joining PSG.
Lee, who joined PSG from Mallorca last month, started the first pre-season game against Le Havre (France) on 22 August before being substituted in the first half after complaining of thigh pain.
Despite the injury, Lee accompanied the team on the Asia Tour and missed the matches against Alnasr (25 July), Cerezo Osaka (28 July) and Inter Milan (1 August) in Japan. Lee returned to action on 3 July in a friendly against Jeonbuk Hyundai in Busan, South Korea. Lee focused on passing, refraining from dribbling and shooting, as if to prevent a recurrence of the injury.
Since returning to France after the pre-season matches, Lee has been participating in team training normally. As such, there are mixed expectations that Lee will be back to full fitness for the opening game.
However, it may be too early to be too confident, as The Bruyne also appeared to have recovered well enough to play in the Community Shield against Arsenal ahead of the start of the league. If he pushes himself too hard in the opening game of the season, he could re-aggravate his thigh injury.
Hamstring injuries are notoriously difficult to heal and are prone to recurrence. If he returns to the field too soon, it could become a serious problem.
The thighs are an important part of a soccer player”s body.
Soccer is a sport that encompasses short- and middle-distance running. Soccer players use their thighs when they run fast in a split second, or when they run at full speed and shoot. They also need the muscles of the hamstrings on the back of their thighs to change direction quickly.바카라
Lee needs to find a way to avoid recurring thigh injuries and make an impression on the French stage.