Tottenham Hotspur footballers Son Heung-Min and Steven Bergwijn have been allowed to travel to visit their home countries despite Britain being under a 21-day lockdown in an attempt to curb the rise of the deadly novel coronavirus.
“The Club has given permission for both Heung-Min Son and Steven Bergwijn to return to their home countries,” a statement on the official website of Tottenham Hotspur said.
Son, who already spent his time in 14-day isolation after returning from South Korea in February, has reportedly visited his home nation for a “personal reason.
Dutch winger Bergwijn, on the other hand, returned to the Netherlands to attend his wife who is expecting the birth of their child.
“Sonny has flown back to South Korea for personal reasons, while Steven has travelled to the Netherlands ahead of the impending birth of his child,” the statement said.
Son and his parents arrived in Seoul on Sunday and will follow another quarantine period of 14 days as per the South Korean government guidelines. He, however, is expected to take part in Spurs’ remote training programme via video call.
“Both players will continue their individual rehabilitation and training programmes during their time away,” the official statement.
The 27-year-old Asian Footballer of 2019 was recovering from an injury which he sustained during Tottenham’s away victory over Aston Villa on February 16.
However, due to the COVID-19 lockdown, which has postponed all the professional football leagues and tournaments in the United Kingdom, Son might return if and when the season resumes.
The Football Association (FA) last week extended the suspension of all forms of professional games till April 30. But with Prime Minister Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing a three-week lockdown earlier this week, the return of football in the first week of May remains highly unlikely.