China skipper Zheng Zhi will return from his loan spell in England to lead Chinese champions Shandong Luneng at the East Asian Champions Cup in June, officials said on Tuesday.

 

Shandong will host the fifth edition of the annual round-robin tournament for the club champions of China, Japan and South Korea as well as one invited team -- this year China's runners up Shanghai Shenhua -- from June 7-13.

 

Zheng has impressed since his move to struggling Premier League club Charlton Athletic late last year but their fate will be long decided by the time Japan's Urawa Reds and South Korea's Seongnam visit Jinan.

 

"Zheng Zhi is on loan and his name is still in the Shandong Luneng squad," Chinese Super League chief Lang Xiaonong told a news conference on Tuesday. "He'll be back to play then."

 

The versatile Zheng will need to be at his best if Shandong are to break China's duck in the tournament, which was won by Japan's Kashima Antlers in 2003 with Korean clubs dominating since.

 

(China Daily via Reuters April 4, 2007)