Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Son Heung-Min is expected to be sidelined for a month after undergoing successful surgery on a broken arm on Friday, the Korean Football Association (KFA) has said.
Son, 24, landed awkwardly on his right arm in the 33rd minute of South Korea's World Cup qualifying defeat to Qatar on Tuesday, leaving the pitch in visible discomfort.
"The operation was successful," KFA Spokesman Cho Jun-Heon told AFP, adding that Son would remain in South Korea to focus on his recovery.
Although the KFA said Son would be out for a month, former national team doctor Song Jun-Seop told Korean newspaper Sports Chosun that he could be sidelined for 12 weeks.
That would rule him out of both the first month of the Premier League season and South Korea's crucial qualifying double-header against Iran and Uzbekistan.
Son, 24, enjoyed a superb campaign for Tottenham last season, scoring 21 goals in all competitions to eclipse the previous scoring record by a Korean in Europe -- Cha Bum-Kun's 19 goals for Bayer Leverkusen in 1985-86.