Kane ruled out of Europa clash against Linz, likely to return for Arsenal Derby
Totenham are within touching distance of the knockout stage of Europe’s second-tier club competition with nine points from four matches and two rounds remaining in Group J
Totenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane missed training ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash at Austrian side LASK Linz but could be fit for the North London derby against Arsenal this weekend, manager Jose Mourinho said on Wednesday.
Mourinho did not reveal the nature of Kane’s injury or when he sustained it, only saying that it would rule him out of Thursday’s game.
“I think he has a good chance ( v Arsenal),” Mourinho told a news conference. “I don’t want to lie, I don’t want to hide anything in relation to ‘is he going to play or no?’
“I think he’s going to play. That’s my feeling.” Mourinho said he would not field a weakened side at LASK with one eye on the Premier League clash against Arsenal.
Totenham are within touching distance of the knockout stage of Europe’s second-tier club competition with nine points from four matches and two rounds remaining in Group J.
Spurs could also increase their lead at the top of the English top flight on Sunday. They are currently ahead of champions Liverpool on goal difference.
“The priority is always to try to win the next match. The next match is a Europa League match. If at the end of the match we have a draw that’s fine and we’ve qualified before the last match but we’re not going to play for that,” Mourinho said.
“Arsenal doesn’t come into our thinking. When you make changes, you make changes based on problems we had. When we do that, we put trust on the players we have. We don’t weaken the team because the Premier League match is next.”
Defender Toby Alderweireld returned to training from a groin issue but Sergio Reguilon, Erik Lamela and Carlos Vinicius all missed the early part of training on Wednesday.
In the other matches, AC Milan will face Celtic while Ghent take on Slovan Liberec on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta on Wednesday backed calls for concussion substitutes ater Arsenal’s David Luiz was involved in a sickening clash of heads with Raul Jimenez that let the Wolves striker with a fractured skull.
Luiz played on until half-time of Sunday’s match, with Arsenal insisting concussion protocols were followed, but was replaced as blood continued to seep through his head bandage.
He has been ruled out of Thursday’s Europa League match against Rapid Vienna but could be fit for Sunday’s north London derby at Totenham.
“Maybe it is a moment that we can think to give these people a litle bit more time and use a temporary substitution, for example, if we don’t want to find ourselves in those positions,” Arteta told reporters ahead of the Rapid match.
Arsenal faced fierce criticism for not replacing the Brazilian defender immediately ater the collision, which occurred just five minutes into the Premier League match with Wolves at the Emirates.
But Arteta said that Arsenal’s club doctor Gary O’driscoll had followed the rules.
“He knows exactly what to do,” said the Spaniard. “He did all the testing, he followed all the protocols and we were very comfortable for him (Luiz) to carry on playing.
“But obviously you have to make a decision in one minute, when somebody is bleeding, when you have someone with a massive concussion next to you -- whose life is under threat.”
Arteta said it was impossible to avoid accidental clashes in football and that sometimes they would lead to serious injuries.
“Obviously, it’s never happened in football,” he added, referring to concussion substitutes. “It happens and it’s very common in other sports.
“And it’s just a suggestion. You know I want to be extra protective, which I think we have to be in certain moments when we really are considering the welfare of the players and have a fair competition while the game is still running.”