Park Ji-sung has been left out of the South Korea squad by coach Huh Jung-moo for the friendly against Paraguay on August 12.

Huh has called up European-based stars such as Wigan Athletic's Cho Won-hee and Park Chu-young of Monaco while there is a recall for former Middlesbrough forward Lee Dong-gook, who is the leading scorer in the K-League this season with Jeonbuk Motors and joins the national team for the first time since the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.

"There is a full list of fixtures and the club (Manchester United) have made new signings so the start of the season is very important for Park," Huh said.

Park has had a busy summer, first helping the national team to achieve a seventh straight appearance at the World Cup in June and then was back in Asia in July as United toured the region.

"The situations for Park Chu-young and Cho Won-hee are different to Park Ji-sung. After their vacations they started training immediately with their teams," Huh added.

The match against the South Americans marks the start of the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists' preparation for South Africa.

With Park absent, the captain's armband will have to be worn by someone else but Huh believes that it won't be a problem.

"Park may be captain but we have players like Lee Woon-jae and Lee Young-pyo who can do a good job," he added.

South Korea will also host Australia on September 5.

Squad: Lee Woon-jae (Suwon), Kim Young-gwang (Ulsan), Jung Sung-ryong (Seongnam); Cho Yong-hyung, Kang Min-soo (Jeju), Kim Hyung-il, Choi Hyo-jin (Pohang), Kim Dong-jin (Zenit), Lee Jung-soo (Kyoto, Japan), Lee Young-pyo (Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia), Oh Beom-seok (Ulsan); Cho Won-hee (Wigan, England), Ki Sung-yong (Seoul), Lee Gang-jin, Lee Seung-hyeon (Busan), Oh Jang-eun, Yeom Ki-hoon (Ulsan), Kim Jung-woo (Seongnam), Kim Chi-woo (Seoul); Lee Keun-ho ( Jubilo Iwata, Japan), Park Chu-young (Monaco, France), Lee Dong-guk (Jeonbuk), Cho Dong-geon (Seongnam).