STRIFE 'N' SEOUL OF THE PARTY

Son's emotional send-off's marred by James' injury

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THOMAS FRANK cursed the "beautiful and brutal" nature of football after James Maddison went off on a stretcher on Son Heungmin's Tottenham farewell.

Spurs captain Son is leaving the club after a decade and was given a standing ovation and a guard of honour from players of both teams when he was substituted in the 64th minute of the draw with Newcastle in Seoul yesterday.

But the emotional reception the South Korean received from fans in his home city Seoul was overshadowed by Maddison's injury late on which Frank admitted: "Looks bad." Maddison missed the closing stages of last season, including the Europa League Final, with a knee problem and appears to have suffered the same problem.

New Spurs boss Frank said: "Sometimes in life and football things can be both beautiful and brutal.