Cho Gue-sung released early from national team due to injury

National team striker Cho Gue-sung has been released early from the South Korea squad to recover from an injury.

The Korea Football Association announced Sunday that Cho had been released from the squad and would return to his club.

"Following a meeting between Cho Gue-sung, head coach Robert Moreno and the medical staff, it was determined that recovery was more important than playing in the remaining matches," the KFA said.

The KFA said only that Cho needed time to recover from an injury, without disclosing the affected area or its severity.

The association also said no replacement would be called up in his place.

Cho had been in strong form heading into this international window, contributing three goals and one assist in official matches for his club. However, he did not feature in any games after joining the national team.

He was left out of the squad entirely for the first friendly against Ecuador at Suwon World Cup Stadium on Thursday, along with Lee Kang-in, Hwang In-beom and Gu Seong-yun.

At the post-match press conference, Moreno said their absences were a precautionary measure taken on medical advice. "It was precautionary, based on recommendations from the medical staff. There was some discomfort and muscular overload, and the medical team asked us not to push them," he said.

Having beaten Ecuador 3-0, Moreno's side will face Uruguay — a South American powerhouse — in the second of four consecutive friendlies Monday at 8 p.m. at Seoul World Cup Stadium.