Son has been selected as one of three overage wild card players for South Korea’s under-23 team at the Asian Games, which will take place in Jakarta and Palembang next month.

The forward is expected to be available for Tottenham’s opening Premier League match against Newcastle on August 11, before flying to Indonesia to take part in the Games.

Son was refused permission by his former club team Bayer Leverkusen to play in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon when the South beat North Korea in the gold medal match, the first time they had won the tournament since 1986.

The Asian Games is not on the FIFA list for which clubs must release players but Son's Premier League club are reportedly considering allowing him to travel to Indonesia to represent South Korea.

A gold medal at the Asian Games would earn all the players who take part an exemption from almost two-years of mandatory military service.

All able-bodied South Korean males must serve 21 months in the military and Korean law states that the period of service must begin before the age of 27.

It means Son, who turned 26 earlier this month, could be forced to interrupt his football career soon to complete his period of duty.

The forward, who scored 20 goals for Tottenham last season and signed a new five-year contract earlier this month, has apologised for leaving the North London side to participate at the Games.

"I should obviously say sorry," Son said, according to Goal.com.

"I'll be away from the team for quite some time, so I want to say sorry to the manager and my teammates.

"I'm sure my teammates will be able to fill the void sufficiently, but I still feel sorry about having to leave the team during the season.

"It's obviously important for me to prepare myself to sacrifice for the team as soon as I return."

South Korea have been drawn in Group E of the tournament, with Son set to miss their opening match against Bahrain on August 12.

Fixtures against the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia will follow, before South Korea end the group stage with a tie against Kyrgyzstan on August 20.

The defending champions would then have to win three knock-out matches to advance to the gold medal final on September 1.

The Asian Cup is set to take place from January 5 to February 1.

The competition falls under FIFA’s calendar, which would mean South Korea would have the right to call Son up to play at the event.

According to Yonhap, the South Korean Football Association have stated they would not call Son up to feature in the first two rounds of the group stage in the United Arab Emirates.

He would be able to feature for Tottenham in their Premier League match against Manchester United, which is currently scheduled for January 12.

It would see him miss South Korea’s matches against The Philippines on January 7 and Kyrgyzstan on January 11.

He would be available for South Korea for the remainder of the tournament, it has been claimed.

Son would also not be called up to November friendly matches, the South Korean Football Association stated.