EPL star Son Heung-min returns after national service to resume Tottenham Hotspur training
After completing his compulsory national service in South Korea with flying colours, Tottenham forward Son Heung-min has returned to London and is expected to resume training with the EPL side next week.
Son spent three weeks with the South Korean Military Corps, where he finished among the top five performers and was awarded the Pilsung prize as a result - excelling with his shooting skills.
He will not be obliged to self-isolate for the required 14-day period unless he tests positive for coronavirus and will be allowed to join first-team training when it resumes, per BBC Sport.
Instead, he has been able to carry out his national service during these unprecedented times without it affecting the longevity of his football career.
He earned an exemption from serving 21 months after being part of his national team who won the Asian Games in 2018 and as a result, only had to complete three weeks.
The 27-year-old scored 16 goals and created nine assists for the EPL side across all competitions before football was suspended indefinitely back in March.
Tottenham were among the first EPL clubs to resume individual sessions at their training ground and in a boost for Spurs, Son could take part as early as this coming Monday.
EPL teams observing strict new regulations
Individual training is allowed as part of the EPL's strict guidelines as their Project Restart plan continues. They intend to resume action sometime next month.
Restrictions are in place for team training, where social distancing must be "strictly observed" and sessions themselves no longer than 75 minutes at a time.
As I reported yesterday, Wolves captain Conor Coady detailed the lengths his club staff and personnel are going to, ensuring they are conducting sessions while observing regulations.
Their EPL rivals Tottenham - two points and two places below them - are sure to be adopting similar rules as they aim to be ready for a potential resumption in play next month.
Corner flags, balls, cones, goalposts and playing surfaces will be disinfected after each session and players are not allowed inside club facilities to reduce the risk of infection.
Son's injury recovery a welcome boost for EPL side
The global COVID-19 pandemic suspended play has allowed Son to fully recover from a broken arm, which would have otherwise sidelined him for the rest of the 19-20 season.
He sustained it during the latter stages of their dramatic 3-2 EPL victory over Aston Villa on February 16, but the unexpected break in play since has benefited him and his teammates.
The club's top goalscorer and captain Harry Kane was able to fully recover from a lengthy hamstring injury which threatened to keep him out of Euro 2020 contention this summer.
Steven Bergwijn, who joined the club for £25.4m in January, is rehabbing an ankle injury and will have been grateful for extended time off which didn't affect his recovery timeline.