Tottenham star Heung-Min Son has officially completed his military training in his home country of South Korea, taking advantage of the Premier League suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic to fulfill his duty.
All South Korean men are required to serve in the military before the age of 28. While Son earned exemption from the complete 21-month service after leading his nation to a football gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games, he was required to undergo three weeks of basic training.
With the English top-flight action being halted, the 27-year-old used the time off to enroll in the Marine Corps training camp back on April 20. He has now completed his duty, and while the official grades were not revealed, The Korea Herald claims he graduated top of his class among a total of 157 trainees and got a perfect score in shooting, thus being awarded the "Pilsung" prize.
Son Heung-Min has completed his military training in South Korea. pic.twitter.com/FGMDaDvIz2
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 8, 2020
Due to South Korea's social distancing measures in the fight against COVID-19, his graduation ceremony was closed to the public. Regardless, dozens of fans turned up to support the attacker while everyone else celebrated his achievement via social media.
Son is set to return to England next week but will be quarantined for 14 days immediately upon arrival due to the government's rules. Several top-flight clubs have opened up their training facilities but the 27-year-old will not be able to report for duty at Spurs for some time.
As for when the Premier League will return and Son be able to return to the pitch, that remains unknown. Project Restart, the plan to get the league back underway, is in the works and while June has been earmarked as the ideal time to return, nothing is certain as of now.
