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Ki Sung-yeung proud of ‘most impressive season’ of career

May 22, 2015

Ki Sung-yeung scored eight goals for Swansea City this season to become the highest-scoring Asian player in a single Premier League season. (AP Photo/David Davies)

INCHEON, May 22 (Yonhap) — Fresh off what he called “the most impressive season” of his football career, Ki Sung-yueng of Swansea City made a triumphant return home Friday.

Ki scored eight goals for Swansea City to become the highest-scoring Asian in a Premier League season, and contributed on both ends of the pitch all season.

With one match remaining, Swansea City will finish eighth in the 20-club competition, their best performance ever. Ki, however, won’t get to celebrate the end of the season with the club, as he recently underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

The midfielder told reporters at Incheon International Airport that his knee is getting better and he should be able to start jogging next week. He said sitting out the final two matches — the club announced Ki’s surgery prior to its penultimate contest — won’t dampen his excitement for the season.

“For myself personally and for the club, this has been a significant season,” he said. “It’s been the most impressive season of my career.”

Ki, who’s also been South Korean captain under head coach Uli Stielike, remains a question mark for the national team when the second round of Asian qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup begins next month. South Korea’s first match will be against Myanmar on June 16.

“I’d love to play for the national team next month but I’ll have to see how my rehab progresses,” Ki said. “I will have to talk to the coach (Stielike).”

Ki admitted he’d been playing through knee pain for the past two years and couldn’t find the right window to undergo the operation.

“Because of the World Cup (in June 2014) and the Asian Cup (in January 2015), I’ve had to postpone the surgery,” Ki said. “I figured this was the right time to do it.”

Ki, 26, was recently voted by Swansea City’s fans as the club’s Player of the Year. He said he was forced to jump in on the attack more often this year because of the club’s lack of offensive weapons, and he still prefers to play as a midfielder.

“In a way, it’s not really good for the team if I score too much,” he said. “The club had some issues, and I had to step up and take charge. But forwards will have to score goals. I will concentrate on playing as a midfielder next season.”