The 1-0 loss to Manchester United was not the only bad news for north London giants, Tottenham. It was followed by other painful losses, including the League Cup exit, as they lost 2-1 in the second leg to Chelsea. Striker Harry Kane will be out for at least 10 games which include crucial Champions League ties against Borussia Dortmund. Kane suffered the injury during the closing stages of Tottenham’s match against The Red Devils after being caught up between United centre-back pairing, Lindelof and Jones.
The loss of the ace striker Harry Kane who himself scored 20 goals this season is itself a huge blow for the title contention for third placed Tottenham Hotspurs. Mauricio Pochettino’s men are now 9 points adrift league leaders, Liverpool. The initial prognosis that was done by the Londoners’ medical staff suggested early March as the time for his potential return to training. This has been the third successive season where Kane suffered an ankle injury, the most recent being in March, last year.
The England international who won the Golden boot at The World Cup scored 7 times in last 7 games to keep Tottenham’s title hopes alive. Kane responded to the news of his injury on Twitter, saying: “Injuries are part of the game but no-one will be working harder to get back fit. Thanks for the messages.”
The unavailability of English international leaves Mauricio Pochettino short of options on the front, as SON Heung Min leaving for national duties in Asian Cup (though he is all set to return now), Lucas Moura injured and Fernando Llorente and Vincent Jassen both looking to leave the club this transfer window.
Kane faces a race to be fit for the north London derby against Arsenal on the 2nd of March and the second leg at Dortmund three days later. In the mean time, Kane is set to miss six premier league matches at least before he resumes training, which will already be a huge loss for his side.
England boss Gareth Southgate will hope Kane is back in contention for England’s opening Euro 2020 qualifier against the Czech Republic on March 22. Midfielder, Mousa Sissoko also suffered a crucial injury which will increases the gravity of the situation that Pochettino is in.
What This Means For The Other Teams?
Now, with the Londoners losing one of their main stars up front and the impact already evident in the League Cup exit, it would suggest that the teams trying to secure a top-four finish have a really good chance. The clubs who were keen on displacing Spurs and pushing them out of a Champions League spot contention can now do so, if the are consistent, while there is every possibility that the Londoners might slip-up in the days to follow.
This could be an interesting turn of events in the top flight of English football and it could have a major impact in the business end of the current campaign and further leading into the next. The Argentine manager will now want to sort things out up front, as he looks to ensure that these problems don’t hurt his side too bad and they throw away all the good work that they have done so far, since the start of the new season.
