Lee benched for ACL final

Jeonbuk Motors coach Choi Kang-hee says veteran striker Lee Dong-gook will start from the bench in Saturday’s AFC Champions League final.

Lee was forced to leave the pitch in the semi-final away leg at Al Ittihad because of a calf injury and missed the return leg.

He has recovered in time for the final against Qatari club Al Sadd in Jenjou, South Korea, but is unlikely to make the staring 11.

“He has recovered from injury but he is lacking fitness,” Choi told reporters. “He did not train during the week, which worries me.”

“He wants to play, but he will be on the substitutes bench and I will have to decide if he is ready to play during the game.”

The Jeonbuk coach will also be without captain Cho Sung-hwan and striker Krunoslav Lovrek due to suspensions.

“Captain Cho is a really good player and one of the top performers in our team but during the K-League, we showed that we could win without key players,” he said.

“It is just one game so it does not matter who plays, everyone has to focus on the match.”

Choi expressed confidence that his team would prevail on their home ground against Al Sadd, who reached the final after defeating K-League side Suwon Bluewings in a controversial semi-final tie.

“This week we have trained really well and the feeling is also good,” Choi said.

“We have great confidence and when the match starts tomorrow, we’re going to do our best.”