Kane sidelined
England captain to miss action due to ankle injury for third season
LONDON — Tottenham striker Harry Kane will be sidelined until March after sustaining ankle ligament damage in last Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United.
Kane injured his left ankle in the closing moments at Wembley and scans have confirmed the extent of the problem.
It is the third successive season the England captain has missed games due to an ankle issue.
“Following preliminary assessments, we can confirm that Harry Kane has damaged ligaments in his left ankle, sustained during Sunday’s match against Manchester United,” a statement on Tottenham’s website said on Tuesday.
“The striker will continue to be monitored by our medical staff as he commences rehabilitation and is expected to return to training in early March.”
Kane was injured after being caught between United defenders Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof while trying to set up a last-minute chance for the host.
The 25-year-old received treatment after the full-time whistle before hobbling to the dressing room.
Vowing to return as quickly as possible, Kane wrote on his Twitter account: “Injuries are part of the game but no one will be working harder to get back fit. Thanks for the messages.”
Kane’s absence is a major blow for Tottenham as it chases the first trophy of manager Mauricio Pochettino’s five-year reign.
The England international is Spurs’ top scorer this season with 20 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions.
Seven of those came in his last seven matches to keep third-place Tottenham in with an outside chance in the Premier League title hunt. The north Londoners sit nine points back of leader Liverpool.
Kane, who won the Golden Boot as the World Cup’s leading marksman last year, also scored the penalty winner against Chelsea in the League Cup semifinal first leg.
Now he will miss the second leg at Stamford Bridge next week, as well as the FA Cup fourth-round trip to Crystal Palace and at least six league games.
The first leg of Tottenham’s Champions League last-16 tie at home to Borussia Dortmund will also come too soon for Kane.
He faces a race to be fit for the north London derby against Arsenal on March 2 and the Dortmund return leg three days later.
England boss Gareth Southgate will hope Kane is back in contention for the Three Lions’ opening Euro 2020 qualifier against the Czech Republic on March 22.
With South Korea’s Son Heungmin away on international duty at the Asian Cup and Lucas Moura injured and Vincent Janssen not in Pochettino’s plans, Spurs are left with Fernando Llorente as their only recognized striker.
After scoring just six times for Tottenham since joining the club in 2016, Janssen has been relegated to Spurs’ under-23 side.
Llorente has also struggled for first-team minutes, although he scored a hat-trick in the recent FA Cup third-round win at fourth-tier Tranmere.
Speaking before tests confirmed Kane’s ligament damage, Pochettino had already said he was “worried” about the situation.
France international midfielder Moussa Sissoko was also injured against United to further deplete Pochettino’s options.