Tottenham wait to discover extent of Kane injury as striker leaves on crutches

Tottenham are waiting to find out the extent of Harry Kane’s hamstring injury sustained in the 1-0 defeat at Southampton.

Kane picked up the problem in the process of scoring an offside goal and left St Mary’s Stadium on crutches, sparking fears he could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Head coach Jose Mourinho said it was too soon to know how bad the injury is, but has described it as “negative”.

“For Harry to come out is negative,” he said. “Hamstring is always a negative. Is it tear? Is it a spasm? Is it a contraction? In this moment I cannot say.”

Mourinho (centre) is unsure how severe Kane's injury is
Mourinho (centre) is unsure how severe Kane's injury is

Spurs were already labouring with their top scorer on as they trailed to Danny Ings’ first-half goal and Mourinho said there was even less chance of his side turning it around after Kane’s injury.

“When we lose out target man Harry Kane we know the part of the game where we are normally more dominant is gone,” he said.

“We played the last 15 mins of the game without a recognised striker and that made it even more difficult.”

Kane was not the only player Spurs lost to injury as record signing Tanguy Ndombele limped off in the first half and it caused Mourinho to lose his patience.

The France international has been beset by fitness concerns following his summer move from Lyon and recently told his manager that he did not want to be selected for the Boxing Day win over Brighton.

Mourinho did not hold back in his assessment of the Frenchman.

“He is always injured, he is injured, is not injured,” Mourinho vented.

“He plays one match, the next week he is injured, he plays another match. We are full of hopes and this is since the beginning of the season.

“Of course it is a concern, you think you have a player, you think the player is in an evolution process, he plays very well against Norwich, you think today he is ready for it and he is not ready for it.

“I cannot say much more than that because it is a situation that comes from the beginning of the season.”

Advertisement