The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Spurs boosted by update on Kane lay-off
Tottenham will be without five firstteam players for tonight’s Champions League clash against CSKA Moscow but a latest scan has revealed Harry Kane could return earlier than expected.
Kane sustained an ankle ligament injury against Sunderland earlier this month and has been left out of the trip to Russia, along with Mousa Dembele, Eric Dier, Danny Rose and Moussa Sissoko.
Dembele, Dier and Rose are all recovering from hamstring problems while Sissoko is being treated for concussion after a bang to the head against Middlesbrough on Saturday.
It means Spurs are under-strength for their crunch test in Moscow but manager Mauricio Pochettino said there was better news regarding Kane.
The striker was initially feared to be facing around eight weeks on the sidelines but it is understood it could now be closer to six, raising hopes the 23-yearold could play in the north London derby against Arsenal on November 6.
Pochettino said: “We are happy, it was very positive, the scan. We’re very, very happy about this news but still we cannot give a time of how long it’ll be to recover.
“I am not a doctor, it’s hard to say one, two, three weeks, but it’s much, much better than we expected.”
Tottenham will, however, have to do without their star man in the brand new CSKA Arena, where they are looking to register their first point in Group E following an opening defeat to Monaco at Wembley.
Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri wants ‘Dragon Slayer’ Islam Slimani to live up to his billing when the Foxes host Porto in the Champions League.
The striker picked up the nickname at former club Sporting Lisbon having scored five goals in his last three games against Porto, who are called the Dragons.
He netted in his final appearance for Sporting, against Porto, when they won 2-1 last month before he completed a club record £29 million move to Leicester on deadline day.
The Portuguese side come to the King Power Stadium already trailing the Foxes by two points in Group G after the opening round of fixtures.
Slimani scored twice on his Premier League debut for Leicester, a 3-0 win over Burnley, and while Ranieri was unaware of his nickname he knows the Algeria international has put Porto to the sword before.
He said: “He’s a goalscorer and has scored a lot against Porto and I’m sure he’ll be a threat to them. Slimani scores so many times against Porto I am thinking if he’s going to play or not!
“We have a lot of respect for Porto, they are a more experienced team in Europe than us.”
Kasper Schmeichel could return after a muscle strain but Nampalys Mendy continues to be sidelined by an ankle injury.