HARRY PAIN
Kane season in doubt as fan trouble mars Spurs cruise into semi-finals
HARRY KANE could miss the rest of the season after picking up another ankle injury as Tottenham romped into the FA Cup semi-finals with a 6-0 win over Millwall.
In a potentially massive blow for his club and for England, Kane damaged his ankle in a challenge with Millwall’s Jake Cooper and limped off at White Hart Lane after only 10 minutes.
Millwall could face an FA investigation after their fans chanted racist abuse at Spurs’ South Korean forward Son Heung-Min, who scored a hat-trick to obliterate the League One side’s hopes.
There were clashes between fans and police before and after the game but it is the loss of Kane that will take the most gloss off Spurs’ win, which earns them a first semi-final in five years. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino said: “Harry has twisted his
ankle, the same ankle that was injured before. Now it’s a matter of waiting. We will assess him today and see what happens. It’s difficult. It looks a similar situation to when he was injured against Sunderland earlier in the season.
“We need to assess him. We hope it’s not a big issue but it looks similar. It will be difficult for him to play against Southampton on Sunday but we need to be cautious.”
Kane, who has scored 24 goals this season, left White Hart Lane with his ankle in a protective boot and will have scans today.
He was out for seven weeks earlier in the campaign with a similar injury to the same ankle – and Spurs have only 11 games left in their Premier League campaign as they attempt to close a 10-point gap on leaders Chelsea.
England manager Gareth Southgate names his squad for the games against Germany and Lithuania on Thursday but will definitely be without one of his top strikers.
Millwall fans sang “DVD” and “He’s selling three for a fiver” at Son throughout yesterday’s match in an ugly form of racial stereotyping against the Korean.
Leicester complained to the FA about “abuse, provocation and intimidation” of their players, fans and staff in their fifth-round defeat by Millwall. There is an FA investigation still ongoing into that match.
The FA said last night they would be seeking observations from both clubs from yesterday’s match and will await the referee’s report.
Millwall manager Neil Harris, whose club brought some 3,600 fans, said: “I didn’t hear anything. But the club won’t condone that. We came in the right spirit to enjoy an FA Cup quarter-final. It will be left to the authorities.”
Argentinian Pochettino said: “It’s difficult for me to understand what is said. Son has not said anything to me.”