KANE AND ABLE
HARRY KANE is ahead of schedule in his recovery from injury and could be back for Tottenham in April.
But Jose Mourinho claimed there is “no chance” the England skipper will return too soon this time and jeopardise his future.
The Spurs manager had feared the England captain would be out for the campaign when he underwent surgery for the hamstring tear he suffered on New Year’s Day.
Yet Kane has now started his on-field rehabilitation in a boost for his injury-hit club and his country, with Euro 2020 just over three months away. Tottenham’s final Premier League match is on May 17 at Selhurst Park but he could now be back to face Bournemouth on April 18.
Mourinho, who refused to set a target for his return, said: “I would say he is a little bit ahead of schedule.
“When he was injured, I told you, ‘I’ll forget him’, then I told you one or two games – Crystal Palace or Leicester.
“At the moment, I have better hopes than that, so hopefully that feeling is right and he can help us in the last
Vpart of the season. It gives me hope that instead of one or two matches, it could be three, four or five. I don’t know, just speculating a little bit, but the feelings are good. Everything is going well.”
Kane was rushed back from an ankle injury last season and did not perform well in the Champions League final defeat by Liverpool.
But Mourinho defended the decision, saying: “I would play only with one leg if I was playing in a Champions League final.With crutches.”
But he also insisted that Spurs would be “realistic”. He said: “Tottenham doesn’t
MATT DOHERTY remembers the dark days when it was more a case of sheep in Wolves’ clothing at Molineux.
It is seven years since Wolves were in League One, and tomorrow they meet Tottenham in a chase for a Champions League spot. Doherty has been at the club for 10 years, making him the squad’s longest serving player.
Doherty said: “We know Tottenham is a tough game but we’re not scared of anybody to be honest.
“We beat Manchester City twice this season and they’ve just beaten Real Madrid at home. I’ve been
STEVE BRUCE has banned his squad from shaking hands – but goal celebrations are allowed today against Burnley.
The Newcastle boss has implemented coronavirus precautions and ordered players to stop their end in May. There is going to be Tottenham for many, many years, so we would never risk Harry in a difficult situation, no chance.”
Mourinho said fellow forward Son Heung-Min could also return before the end of the season wearing a cast on his broken right arm.
“There’s a good possibility that before the end of the season, we will have Harry and Sonny playing together,” he said.
Before hosting Wolves tomorrow, Mourinho added: “Now that we have hopes that our attacking power will arrive to give us some help, it’s about trying to survive – and to survive is to be there [near the top four].” through it all here, really. There were some tough times like when you are playing at Molineux and it’s half-empty and you’re getting booed off.
“We just have to enjoy this and hope it lasts a long time. We couldn’t have foreseen this back then.” morning ‘ritual’ of greeting each other. Club doctor Paul Catterson advised that players should minimise physical contact to stop any potential spread of the virus to football clubs. Bruce said: “There is a ritual here, everyone shakes hands with each other when we see each other in the morning.We have stopped that on the back of the virus. We are mindful of bugs sweeping through.
“Over Christmas, we had five or six sick and when you are in a small environment like we are, you’ve got to guard against things like shaking hands. If somebody has got a bug, they stay away because it rapidly forms.” But Toon players can still jump on each other should they score.
Burnley will reach the psychological 40-point safety mark if they win today. But skipper and centre-half Ben Mee said: “We have got ourselves into a really good position over the past five weeks, but we won’t get ahead of ourselves.”