KANE AND DEMBELE TO MISS OUT ON FIORENTINA CLASH

TOTTENHAM have suffered a double injury blow with Harry Kane and Mousa Dembele ruled out of tonight’s Europa League clash with Fiorentina Kane has been told not to play by a specialist after an operation on his nose, which he broke in the FA Cup loss against Crystal Palace on Sunday Tonight’s last 32 clash will be the first game in any competition that Tottenham have played without their leading scorer in the squad While losing that safety blanket is unfortunate, and perhaps unsettling, the greater concern is Dembele, who suffered a groin injury in the same game and could be out for two weeks That would rule the midfielder out of the north London derby on March 5 Mauricio Pochettino has identified this as the pivotal period in the club’s season and a Europa League exit in the same week they departed the FA Cup would surely sap the momentum out of an excellent campaign Pochettino said: ‘Harry will be available for Sunday against Swansea We expect and hope he is available ‘Mousa is maybe 10 days or two weeks It is not a big issue but in this period we have ahead it has arrived in a very bad moment ‘We have some problems now like Dembele, Kane, Tom Carroll, Jan Vertonghen and Clinton Njie are out and not available for Fiorentina ’ While the injuries are a concern, Pochettino is confident he has talked sense into Dele Alli after his recent indiscretions The 19year-old’s form has been central to sustained challenges on multiple fronts, but his aggression in matches has drawn attention, particularly his kick at Nenad Tomovic in Florence last Thursday Pochettino said: ‘We have had a chat and it was very good I think it was important ’