Spurs brace up to thrive without Kane
Star striker faces several weeks out with ankle ligament damage
Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham are better equipped to cope without star striker Harry Kane than they were earlier this season, as they approach the defining point in their campaign.
Kane is sidelined for several weeks with ankle ligament damage sustained against Millwall in the FA Cup quarter-finals last weekend.
Tottenham last time failed to fill the void left by Kane’s 10game absence with the same injury, going six matches without a win during a lean run in October and November.
But Pochettino believes his title hopefuls, who host Southampton on Sunday, will ensure there isn’t another drop in form with England forward Kane back on the treatment table.
“It was a different period,” he said. “We are finding our best form now and the team is more solid. We have improved a lot since then.
“We had a very difficult pre-season with players returning from Euro 2016, so today is a completely different period and we are at a completely different level.”
Kane will also miss England’s friendly against Germany on March 22 and the World Cup qualifier against Lithuania four days later.
League matches in April against Burnley, Swansea City, Watford and Bournemouth could also come too soon, while an FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea is looming next month.
But Kane, who has 24 goals in all competitions this season, is confident he will return from injury ahead of schedule, according to Pochettino, and play some part in the run-in.
“We need to assess him day-by-day. He’s very positive, he’s always joking about being fit after the international break or in three or four weeks,” Pochettino said.
“He’s very positive and that is good, but at the same time we need to be careful with his injury.
“We trust completely in our doctor and physios and department that looks after them in the best way.
“We’ll see but we hope that yes, as soon as possible he will be available again.”
In his absence, South Korea forward Son Heung-Min and Vincent Janssen are vying to start up front as Spurs try to close the 10-point gap on leaders Chelsea.
Son bagged a hat-trick in the 6-0 quarter-final win over Millwall, while Janssen scored his long-awaited first goal from open play.