Midfielder Paik Seung-ho (Birmingham City), who was released from the national football team and returned early to his club, is expected to take more time to return to the pitch.

Birmingham City will play a home match against Preston North End for the 10th round of the 2026-2027 English Professional Football Championship (second tier) at St Andrew's in Birmingham, England, on October 14 (Korea time).

According to Birmingham on October 13, Manager Chris Davies stated in a press conference ahead of this match regarding Paik's physical condition, "He won't be able to play for the next two games."

He added, "Let's see how things go after that. Hopefully, he can recover."

Following Preston, Birmingham will face Queens Park Rangers on October 17.

Paik was selected for the national team, which played four consecutive A-matches in September and October under interim manager Robert Moreno (Spain).

However, he was released from the national team after the second friendly match against Uruguay without playing a single match.

At the time, the Korea Football Association announced, "As a result of a meeting among the player, coaching staff, and medical team, it was determined that recovery is necessary rather than playing in the remaining matches," adding, "He will be released from the squad and return to his club to protect the player."

Birmingham played an away league match against West Bromwich Albion on October 10 (a 1-0 victory) after the international break, but Paik missed the game.

Ahead of that match, Manager Davies stated, "Paik has had a minor injury that he has been carrying for a while," adding, "We currently expect him to miss a few games."

(Photo: Yonhap News)