Mourinho has options now in Kane’s absence
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho knows Harry Kane’s latest injury absence is not as grave a situation as last year.
Kane suffered injuries to both ankles in Thursday’s loss to Liverpool, but it is the one to his left joint which could keep him out for a number of weeks, depending on the results of a scan this weekend.
It is an almost annual event for the England captain to be injured at this time of the season as 12 months ago he ruptured a hamstring.
Spurs then lost Son Heung- min, Erik Lamela and Steven Bergwijn to deplete their attacking options, but Mourinho can take comfort in that not being the case this time.
He has striker Carlos Vinicius at his disposal as well as Gareth Bale, while Son, Lamela and Bergwijn are all fit.
“One thing is to have like last season three or four attacking players all injured at the same time. And another thing is to have just Harry Kane, because of course we have Carlos Vinicius, Steven Bergwijn, Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela, Gareth Bale and if I forgot anyone, I apologise for that.
“Of course it’s a different situation, because we have attacking players.”
Mourinho will be without Kane at Brighton on Sunday, but he has confirmed defender Joe Rodon will start.
Rodon put in an impressive performance against Liverpool, before making a mistake which allowed Sadio Mane to kill the game. But Mourinho saw enough from the Wales international to commit to playing him again.
“Next game he plays for sure,” Mourinho said. “For me his performance was very, very good. Very solid.”
Brighton sit five points above the drop zone, are yet to win at home this term and could do with a repeat of last season’s thumping 3-0 win over a Spurs side managed by Mauricio Pochettino to propel themselves away from danger.
Manager Graham Potter says his respect for Mourinho is “sky high” but played down the personal significance of coming out on top against his Portuguese counterpart.
“For me, it’s more about we want to get the points for the club,” he said. “If we can get a win that would be great but it would not be for my own personal thing, it’s more for the team.”