As this season's campaign runs through the World Cup, Beijing Guoan's naturalized stalwart Li Ke's battlefield journey seems to be coming to an end, a situation that followed him last season. Injuries have been the culprit for his lack of appearances in the last two years since joining the team, and next season's "Returning God of War," Li Ke, will also be entering his prime years.
Yesterday, Beijing time, Li Ke shared a photo of his third surgery on his personal social media platforms with the message, "Rehabilitation journey restarted." Only from the last time on social media to share the joy of returning to the team counted, but only two short months. Earlier this year, Li Ming, general manager of Guoan FC, revealed on a program that Li Ke was suffering from ankle-tube syndrome. Also on that program, Li Ming said that Li Ke is actively recovering and if all goes well, he will join the team at the end of April. As expected, Li Ke returned from the UK as promised and quickly shared his isolated life through social media until he updated his "return photo" in Guoan's jersey in mid-May - a strong return for the naturalized player that has raised expectations, both at the club and the national team. The naturalized player is expected to make a strong comeback, both in the club and the national team, and he has shown a different strength as a naturalized player.
Li Ke is in dire need of an early return to action, with his last appearance for the team scenario being last May. In fact, his attendance in his first two seasons since joining Guoan in 2019 has been quite impressive. He made a total of 49 appearances in his first two seasons, impressing with his solid defense and keen eye for the game, especially against Paulinho in the league. At one point, his debut was seen as a hope for the national team's midfield. However, injuries became a challenge that he had to face after his "breakthrough".
In the 2021 season, Li Ke announced his retirement after only 3 league games. This not only weakened Guoan's midfield, but also deprived the national team of a strong replacement option. What's worse, the spate of injuries seems to be more stubborn than expected. Last August, Li Ke, who was out for the season, returned to England and underwent two surgeries. He shared his experience of struggling with a rare injury on social media: In the past year, I've been battling an injury that is extremely rare among soccer players. After two surgeries and renewed hope of returning to the field, I have encountered another challenge. Every day, I'm trying to get back on the field, and the mental battle with such a rare injury is just as hard. But no matter what, I will keep going and push forward every day to get back on the field doing what I love.
However, only half a month after returning for the new season, Li Ke returned to Beijing from the tournament. Despite the Guoan coaching staff's cautious attitude towards his comeback, coach Xie Feng repeatedly emphasized in interviews that whether Li Ke could play in the new season depended on his recovery. However, there are still many people who are confused about Li Ke's recurring injuries, and there are even rumors that he is refusing to play due to unpaid wages on the pretext of his injuries.
However, as he shared photos of his surgery once again, people became convinced that certain sports injuries are both mysterious and difficult to eradicate. The cause of Li Ke's injuries is said to be bilateral popliteal artery embolism syndrome and distal tibial artery embolism syndrome. No one can give an answer as to whether this surgery will result in a complete cure. If he returns to the field next year, it will take a long time for him to get back to his form after a long time of inactivity. Suffering from consecutive injuries will have a huge impact on his mentality, and since he is already past his prime, Li Ke, who has brought surprises to the fans, may not be able to regain his former elegance.
Guoan's other naturalized player, Hou Yongyong, is also in a bad situation. The Norwegian starlet, who was once on par with Arsenal midfielder Jurgen Ödgård, has not had a good start to his career at Guoan. Due to the large number of midfielders in the team, Hou Yong Yong only made four starts in the 2019 season, accumulating 19 appearances.In the 2020 season, he suffered from a knee injury and only made eight appearances for the team in the whole year. In October of the same year, he had to return to Europe for surgery, and last season was a long time in Europe to recuperate. Similar to Li Ke, Hou Yong Yong also returned this year - in April, the club announced that he had returned to the team for speed running and ball training, and is expected to make a comeback in the new season. But to this day, he has yet to get even a minute of playing time.
In fact, like most Chinese Super League teams, Guoan's overall strength has declined in the new season, with many young players needing exercise. Compared to the past, a healthy Hou Yongyong will face relatively little competitive pressure, and his versatility as a center midfielder, as he showed in Norway, will at least provide a strong addition to the team. After the official announcement of the player's return, there was no more mention of Hou Yong Yong, who has not appeared in a game so far this season. I don't know if Hou Yongyong is suffering from an old injury like Li Ke, or if he has been out of action for too long and is not up to the task of playing. After the initial excitement, with China's team in the World Cup crashed and burned, most of the naturalized players have faded out of people's vision, but Li Ke and Hou Yongyong as still playing in the Chinese Super League players, so obscure, it is really regrettable.
