HÀ NỘI — Footballers Trần Đình Trọng, Lục Xuân Hưng and Đặng Văn Tới of Việt Nam’s national teams left for South Korea on Thursday to treat their injuries. All their expenses, equal to about US$60,000, will be paid by the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF).

Star defender Trọng sustained a foot injury while he was competing in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup in 2018.

Trọng played a key role in Việt Nam’s success in the AFC U23 Championship held in January last year in China, in which Việt Nam were the runners-up for the first time ever. Following his outstanding performance at the AFC and AFF events, Việt Nam’s head coach Park Hang-seo mentioned he wanted to recall Trọng to the national squad as he was just dealing with a knock which only required minor surgery – something that could be postponed. However, after careful consideration, coach Park and the VFF decided not to call him in to give him a chance to recover completely.

Young talent Văn Tới, captain of Việt Nam U19 team, injured his knee ligaments in a match against Jordan in the AFC U19 Championships in October last year. Young midfielder Lục Xuân Hưng also suffered a serious knee injury in training with the senior team while preparing for the ongoing Asian Cup.

According to the VFF’s general secretary Lê Hoài Anh, the three footballers are young talents with a lot still to give to Vietnamese football, so the VFF is trying to help them recover to their best.

Many years ago, if footballers were injured during international competition, the VFF only supported a small part of their expenditures for treatment. This case shows the VFF is taking a new, more supportive position. — VNS