Ex-Man Utd star Jesse Lingard shares picture from hospital bed as South Korea transfer turns into a nightmare
JESSE LINGARD shared a picture from a hospital bed as the former Manchester United midfielder’s plight in South Korea got worse.
FC Seoul’s ex-England star raised two fingers in a peace sign, despite facing a month out following knee surgery.
Lingard, 31, has struggled since arriving in Asia to huge fanfare in February.
His first three appearances drew criticism before he missed the last three with injury.
But his message to fans from hospital suggests Lingard is hungry to revive his career.
The former Nottingham Forest man posted photos along with the words: “Back stronger” … “positive vibes” … and “‘successful surgery”.
Seoul manager Kim Gi-dong expects Lingard’s operation on his meniscus to keep him out until mid-May.
Amazingly, however, Kim has at times been one of the ex-West Ham loanee’s strongest critics.
After a 2-0 win over Jeju, he said of Lingard: “Even though he came on as a substitute, he didn’t work hard and avoided tussle.
“The name value has no meaning on the pitch. I will tell him this exactly.”
Lingard later posted on social media that “this s*** gets overwhelming but I just keep pushing”.
It all makes it seem a long two months since his home debut sparked a L-League record attendance of 51,670 for a derby clash against Incheon United.
Replica Lingard No10 shirts sold well amid that initial craze.
But fans and pundits have been less happy in recent weeks, while he has also lost thousands of followers online.