The attacker hasn’t played for the team in six games since leaving Molineux almost a month ago.
In fact, Wanderers has performed admirably without him, dropping just one of his eleven games (a Premier League encounter against Manchester United).
With the help of players like Matheus Cunha, Pedro Neto, and Pablo Sarabia, Wolves have scored 13 goals in all while Hwang has been away.
In the absence of their leading scorer, that has been an incredible comeback.
But in light of today’s shocking Asian Cup outcome, it appears as though Gary O’Neil might now be able to bring Hwang back into the mix.
Hwang Hee-chan will come back
Jurgen Klinsmann’s team advanced to the semifinals by defeating Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinal and Australia in the round of 16 after emerging from their group.
Korea saved face against Saudi Arabia by scoring an equalizer in injury time and going on to win the match on penalties, with Hwang scoring the game-winning kick.
Heung-min Son then scored the game-winning goal in extra time against Australia after Hwang had equalized in injury time.
But today, Korea’s good fortune ran out as they lost 2-0 to Jordan.
Hwang and his colleagues were devastated by the goals scored in the second half by Yazan Al-Naimat and Musa Al-Taamari.
Hwang will now be released back to Wolves because the Asian Cup does not include a third-place play-off match, in contrast to many other major events.
A possibly significant increase
Hence, South Korea has been eliminated from the Asian Cup. I would first like to express my sincere regret for Hwang and my sincere sympathies to the forward.
It would have been wonderful to witness him lead his nation to victory. Back home, he is a household name, so it would have been incredible to see him experience some success abroad.
Undoubtedly, this is positive news for Wolves, and we will now see if the “excellent” talent can contribute in any way when Wolves play Brentford this weekend.
With the game taking place at Molineux on Saturday, Hwang will have three days to prepare. Rayan Ait-Nouri, who recently qualified for the AFCON with Algeria, was included in the team to play West Brom. He was handed a late cameo at the Hawthorns and given four days to recuperate for the Albion encounter.
Hwang is probably going to be in the Wolves starting lineup on Saturday. Considering the distance required, it remains to be seen if he actually starts. It is likely that he won’t be put at risk right away when facing the Bees.
