RB Leipzig striker Hwang Hee-chan will not play any more games this year as he deals with the lingering effects of COVID-19, the Bundesliga club's manager Julian Nagelsmann said on Friday.
Hwang was one of several South Korea players who tested positive for coronavirus during the international break last month when the squad was based in Austria for friendly matches.
The 24-year-old was quarantined at home and Nagelsmann said the club was taking precautions while gradually easing him back to action.
"Hwang had very strong symptoms. He told me that he felt dead for the first seven days. He really wasn't doing well at all," Nagelsmann told reporters ahead of Saturday's match at home to Werder Bremen.
"We have to be very careful. Something like that can be very dangerous for the heart."
Hwang joined Leipzig from Salzburg in July on a five-year deal but has yet to start a Bundesliga match, making five substitute appearances, while his only goal came in a cup tie in September.
Leipzig, third in the standings, play four more matches this year before a short winter break and then resume their league campaign on Jan. 2.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
