T1 head coach Bengi has revealed the earliest Faker could return from his break. The Korean mid laner is recovering from an arm injury that has caused him a significant amount of pain.
Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok is currently taking a break from action after sustaining an arm injury that has hampered his ability to perform at his best. The Korean mid laner revealed at the weekend, after expressing discomfort in his right arm, that he had been playing through pain since the June 17 match against BRION.
T1 did not establish a timetable for Faker’s return in the statement issued prior to July 5’s match against DRX, though they noted that the player would be given “a few weeks” to rest.
With Challengers mid laner Yoon ‘Poby’ Seong-won filling in for Faker, T1 put in an off-color display against DRX and were demolished in a quick 2-0 fashion.
After the match, head coach Bae ‘Bengi’ Seong-woong revealed that Faker will be out of action for two weeks at least.
“We talked about his condition after the Nongshim game,” he is quoted by Naver as saying in a post-match press conference. “His wrist seems to be in a state where he needs to rest.
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“We decided to give him some rest. I think at least two weeks. We’ll see how it goes.”
This means that Faker will miss, at minimum, T1’s next three matches, against Gen.G (July 8), Nongshim RedForce (July 14) and Dplus (July 16). Depending on how his recovery goes, he could be back for the July 21 series against Hanwha Life Esports.
Bengi did not say whether Poby will continue to play for T1 while Faker is out. According to him, the team did not have enough time to prepare for the DRX match with the 17-year-old mid laner.
“We need to perform as well as possible until Faker returns,” he said. “We will find the best way.”