Xuan Son 'regrets' because of being 'fired' at the end of the season, coach speaks directly about new additions?

After winning the 2024 AFF Cup with the Vietnamese national team, coach Kim Sang Sik shared about the trend of using naturalized players in Southeast Asia, with the most recent name to leave an impression being Nguyen Xuan Son.

The appearance of Nguyen Xuan Son has brought a new breeze to the attack of the Vietnamese national team at the AFF Cup 2024. The Golden Star Warriors won the tournament this year thanks to the great contributions of this naturalized striker, with 7 goals and 2 assists.

Despite having to leave the field early in the second leg of the final due to injury, Nguyen Xuan Son was still voted the tournament’s best player and top scorer. The 27-year-old striker underwent nearly 2-hour surgery after returning home and is expected to be out of action for 6-9 months.

Nguyen Xuan Son's initial success is considered the hinge to open up opportunities for many other foreign players to wear the Vietnamese national team jersey, including names waiting to be eligible for naturalization such as Hendrio or Geovane.

Talking about the trend of using naturalized players, Coach Kim Sang Sik shared: "The opportunity to wear the Vietnamese national team jersey is always open to players, including naturalized players. I always welcome all highly skilled players to strengthen the Vietnamese national team.

I also know that teams in the region are constantly naturalizing and bringing foreign players into their squads. Those teams will have much better squads in one or two years, so the Vietnamese team must prepare even better for the upcoming matches."

In 2025, the Vietnam national team will compete in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. If Nguyen Xuan Son can return by the end of the year, he will still be able to play in two matches against Nepal and Laos at the national team level. Meanwhile, the 2024/25 season with Nam Dinh Club is considered to have ended early for Xuan Son.

Previously, the situation occurred in the 32nd minute of the second leg of the AFF Cup 2024 final on the evening of January 6, when player Nguyen Xuan Son, while trying to pass the ball to his teammate, fell quite hard on the Rajamangala field (Bangkok, Thailand). The fall was so hard that Xuan Son's lower right leg was bent.

The player was then taken by ambulance straight to the hospital. X-ray results showed that Xuan Son had a broken tibia and a broken fibula. The Brazilian striker was forced to immobilize his right leg for a while.

According to the latest announcement from Nam Dinh Club, Mr. Nguyen Van Thien called Xuan Son. The Nam Dinh Club's manager assured Xuan Son: "Don't worry, we will provide the best treatment." In addition, Mr. Thien also promised: "By all means, we will use the best treatment conditions to treat Xuan Son, so that you can soon return to contribute to the Vietnam National Team."

Initially, there were two options for treating Xuan Son's injury. Option 1 was to leave him in Thailand for treatment, and option 2 was to bring him back home. Recently, the Vietnam National Team decided to bring Xuan Son back home for surgery to treat his broken tibia. The striker will return on the same flight as the Vietnam National Team at 12:30 today (January 6). The flight from Bangkok (Thailand) is expected to arrive at Noi Bai Airport (Hanoi) at 14:30.

The fact that Nam Dinh Club will cooperate with the Vietnam Football Federation to treat and provide the best treatment for Xuan Son is good news for the striker born in 1997 as well as Vietnamese football fans. Hopefully Xuan Son will recover soon to contribute to Nam Dinh Club as well as the Vietnam National Team.

According to MSc. Nguyen Quyet Thang - Chief Technician of the Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Vinmec, Nguyen Xuan Son's rehabilitation journey will last at least 6 months, divided into 4 stages with clear goals. "In the first 1-2 weeks, the goal is to control pain, activate neuromuscular and restore mobility and prevent complications if any. The next stages aim to increase strength, improve range of motion, balance and physical preparation. After 6 months of maximum intensity training, if meeting the standards, Nguyen Xuan Son will be allowed to compete again," Mr. Thang informed.

Xuan Son missed Tet, 'disappeared' from Vietnam national team list, what's going on? Lan Chi08:11:22 29/01/2025Striker Nguyen Xuan Son will not be on the list of the Vietnam National Team in the first training session after the Lunar New Year 2025. After winning the AFF Cup 2024, the Vietnam National Team will focus on the next important task, the Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers.