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World Cup star Cho Gue-sung returns to action after 448 days out

Published: 18 Aug. 2025, 16:44 Updated: 18 Aug. 2025, 21:03

A picture of FC Midtjylland forward Cho Gue-sung shared on the club's social media [SCREEN CAPTURE]

FC Midtjylland forward Cho Gue-sung featured for one minute in his side's 2-0 win over Vejle BK in the Danish Superliga in Vejle, Denmark on Sunday, returning to action after being sidelined for 448 days due to injury and knee surgery complications.

Cho, 27, came on as a substitute in stoppage time and carried the ball from the midfield close to the penalty box before holding off a defender and passing inside the box. Aral Simsir then found Dario Osorio, who struck to secure a 2-0 victory.

Cho rose to prominence by becoming the first Korean player to score a double at a World Cup, in the 2022 match against Ghana. The striker saw a surge in his Instagram followers afterward and embarked on a career in Europe by joining FC Midtjylland in the summer of 2023.

But an injury suffered at the end of the 2023-24 season required surgery in May 2024, after which he developed a post-surgery infection. Rehabilitation forced him to miss the entire 2024-25 campaign, with the football community raising concerns that he may have to end his career.

But Cho is now back in action for the start of the 2025-26 campaign.

“I was in the hospital for a month and lost 12 kilograms [26.5 pounds],” Cho said in a YouTube video shared by the Korea Football Association on Saturday. “I was getting painkillers three to four times a day and couldn’t sleep at night. That was the hardest time I’ve ever had.”

Cho also showed off a new look — with short hair, bleached orange like Hanamichi Sakuragi from the Jmanga “Slam Dunk” (1990-96), and even bleached eyebrows.

Fellow Korean defender Lee Han-beom, meanwhile, played the full 90 minutes for FC Midtjylland in Sunday's match.

FC Midtjylland have picked up two wins and three draws from the opening five league matches of the season and sit in third place on the 12-team table.

The club will play their next match against Kuopion Palloseura in the first leg of the Europa League playoff on Thursday.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK RIN [[email protected]]