Jeonbuk sweat on Lee Dong-Gook fitness

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are sweating on the fitness of striker Lee Dong-Gook as doubts persist over his recovery from injury ahead of the AFC Champions League final with Al Sadd. Lee, who has bagged nine goals in this year's Champions League campaign, will be given until the last minute to recover from the calf injury which ruled him out of the semi-final against Al Ittihad, a tie they won 5-3 on aggregate. The 32-year-old former Middlesbrough man has been pivotal to Jeonbuk's free-scoring form this season and hit six against Japan's Cerezo Osaka over two legs in the quarter-finals. He will be desperate to play in Saturday's final at the Jeonju World Cup stadium, Jeonbuk's home ground where they have won all six matches on the road to the final. Jeonbuk have scored an impressive 31 goals this year as they close in on their second AFC Champions League title, after winning Asia's top club competition in 2006. But coach Choi Kang-Hee conceded Friday he may be forced to go into the final without the prolific Lee, who could join suspended duo Cho Sung-Hwan and Krunoslav Lovrek on the sidelines. "It's a shame that some players can't play in the final," Choi, who led Jeonbuk to their 2006 win, told Yonhap news agency. "But we have prepared for this and we have some very good players available. The mood within the team is very good. We're also very strong at home and that will be a big edge for us. Unless we make mental mistakes we should be able to win the match." Jeonju, a countryside city of 600,000 three hours drive from Seoul, is preparing for an influx of fans, with hotels fully booked and city centre bars braced for a party if Jeonbuk win. But Qatari outfit Al Sadd are determined to wrestle the coveted trophy out of South Korean hands for the first time in three years following wins for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma and Pohang Steelers. Where Jeonbuk have been flamboyant, Al Sadd have ground out results. Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati warned against underestimating his team, who arrived in Korea late after an exhausting 16-hour journey. "The teams that have made it to the final have earned their place," Yonhap quoted Fossati as saying. "Jeonbuk is a very good team, and we must respect them. But they must also respect us." Fossati will be boosted by the return of suspended duo Mamadou Niang and Keita Abdul Kader. The pair served one-match suspensions in the second leg against Suwon, which Al Sadd lost 0-1 but still scraped into the final 2-1 on aggregate. The Qataris line up in the final as underdogs - they only qualified for the tournament proper after a play-off. But their disciplined two-goal win in Suwon showed they are a side to be reckoned with as they try to win a continental title for the first time since 1989.