Star defender to receive surgery in South Korea

Accompanying Hau to Seoul are Hanoi FC head coach Park Choong-kyun and a language assistant.

The surgery will be conducted by Dr. Min Seok-chan of Sjsports Hospital. After surgery, the 22-year-old will stay in South Korea an additional two months for therapy. Treatment expenses will be paid by Hanoi FC and Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

Hau will be absent from Vietnam’s remaining World Cup qualifiers, as well as AFF Cup 2021. It will also be difficult for him to recover in time for SEA Games 31, which will take place in Vietnam in May 2022.

Hau used to be the number one national left-back choice. He can also play as center-back. With Vietnam, Hau won second place at AFC U23 Championship 2018, the AFF Cup title in 2018 and a SEA Games gold medal in 2019.

He used to play for Dutch club Heerenveen but couldn’t compete for a spot in the main squad. After a year, he returned to Vietnam in July 2020 and has been struggling with injuries since.

Without Hau, coach Park Hang-seo has used Nguyen Phong Hong Duy as left-back. However, Duy has yet to meet expectations, both in defense and offense.