Lee Young-pyo’s Injury Not Too Serious

“Bright eye” Lee Young-pyo (29, Tottenham Hotspur) was injured yesterday at Manchester Stadium.

In a match against Manchester City, Lee injured himself after being kicked in the knee by an opposing midfielder David Sommeil 27 minutes into the second half.

Sommeil’s spike tore up the upper part of Lee’s knee.

Lee was carried off on a gurney after lying down for two minutes in agony. Lee’s eighth straight full-time away game streak that started last November ended.

Tottenham coach Martin Jol said that Lee wouldn’t be able to play for a few weeks due to the injury.

However, the injury did not seem too serious, and is not serious enough to keep him off of his feet. Lee drove home by himself after returning to London by a chartered airplane.

Jin Sung-won, an agent from Lee’s management company, said there appears to be no serious injury to his bones or ligaments, but that they would wait for a more thorough examination.

Lee focused on defense but engaged in attacks as well in yesterday’s game. Britain’s Sky Sports gave him a score of 6, remarking that Lee had some good offensive maneuvers.

Tottenham won the match, 2-0 on goals scored by Mido and Robbie Keane. Tottenham is in fourth place in the Premier League with 11 wins, 7 draws, and 3 losses (40 points), trailing closely behind Liverpool’s 12 wins, 5 draws, and 2 losses (41 points).

jaeyuna@donga.com