Xuan Son of Vietnam's Nam Dinh FC. - Photo: SPORTFIVE
HANOI: Few players can have made as convincing a return from serious injury as Nam Dinh FC and Vietnam striker Nguyen Xuan Son did last week in the Asean Club Championship Shopee Cup after the forward hit a hat-trick in his side’s 3-0 win over Myanmar’s Shan United FC.
In only his second match back in action since recovering from breaking his leg in the 2024 Asean Championship final against Thailand in January, the 28-year-old put on a vintage display of goal scoring to earn his side maximum points.
Xuan Son’s virtuoso performance at Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon secured the forward the Shopee Star of the Match award while the win took Nam Dịnh up to second in Group B, one point behind leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim FC with a game in hand over the Malaysians.
“I feel very good, it’s nice to come back again to play,” Xuân Son said after receiving his Shopee Star of the Match trophy. “To score goals is amazing. The most important thing is the three points. We got the three points and let’s do the next step.
“It’s amazing. It’s not every day we can score a hat-trick. I’m very happy. The team helped me a lot. The most important thing is that the team wins. It’s what I do, it’s my job to score goals.”
Xuan Son’s exploits in Yangon came almost 11 months after an injury that ended the forward’s involvement in the last edition of the Asean Championship, a tournament he had taken by storm, and the remainder of Nam Dinh’s domestic season.
Over the preceding four matches in the region’s premier championship, now known as the Asean Hyundai Cup and regarded as the jewel in the crown for South-East Asian football, the Brazil-born forward had a seismic impact despite his late introduction to the tournament.
Xuan Son made his first appearance in the Asean Championship – and his long-awaited debut for his adopted nation - against Myanmar in Vietnam’s final group match and his influence was immediate, scoring twice in a 5-0 win.
He was to carry that form into the semi-final against Singapore, where he netted deep into stoppage time of the first leg to secure a 2-0 win for the Golden Star Warriors before scoring twice more in the return clash as Vietnam closed out a 5-1 aggregate win.
There was more to come over the opening 90 minutes of the final against the Thais in Viet Trì as Xuan Son hit a brace that secured a 2-1 first leg advantage for Kim Sang-sik’s side ahead of the return in Bangkok three days later.
That meeting at Rajamangala Stadium was to last only 34 minutes for Xuan Son; however, as he was stretchered off the field with a broken fibula and tibia in his right leg, an injury that required surgery and a lengthy recuperation and rehabilitation period.
Despite his early exit, Xuan Son’s impact on the Aseav Championship had been such that the player also known as Rafaelson finished as top scorer with seven goals and was named the competition’s Most Valuable Player.
It was not until November that Xuan Son returned to frontline action, scoring a penalty for Vietnam in a 45-minute appearance during the country’s 2-0 win over Laos in AFC Asian Cup qualifying despite not having played in a competitive match since his injury.
He then featured at club level on November 23 in a 2-0 win over second division side Long An FC in the Vietnamese Cup before netting his stunning hat-trick against Shan United in the Shopee Cup last Thursday.
His hat-trick was one of three scored so far in the 2025/26 Shopee Cup, with JDT’s Bergson and Tampines Rovers FC’s Hide Higashikawa also hitting three in matches against Bangkok United FC and BG Pathum United FC, respectively.
Xuan Son will have the opportunity to add to his tally next Thursday when Nam Dinh travel to Thailand to take on Bangkok United, with the V.League 1 champions knowing victory will take them to the summit of Group B after three rounds of matches.
With only the first two finishers advancing to the knockout rounds, the return of Xuan Son will give Nam Dinh a welcome boost in their quest to be crowned the kings of Asean club football.
