KANE’S WORLD OF PAIN
England captain in race to make Qatar qualifiers in March
HARRY KANE could face a race against time to be fit for the World Cup qualifiers in March.
The England captain is anxiously awaiting a scan to discover the extent of another ankle injury with Jose Mourinho, below, left with a mounting casualty list at Tottenham.
The Spurs boss is hopeful Kane might be back within a month but the injury was too swollen to get an accurate report on the damage sustained in the defeat by Liverpool on Thursday night.
England face their opening qualifiers in March for the World Cup in Qatar, starting with San Marino on the 25th, Albania three days later and then Poland on the 31st.While Kane missed a big chunk of last season with a serious hamstring problem, he has been plagued by ankle issues in recent seasons and the club are hoping it will not be another long lay-off.
The worry will not only be Tottenham’s congested fixture list but also him getting fit and back to match sharpness for the England games amid other injuries at Spurs. Mourinho confirmed that leftback Sergio Reguilon is likely to be out for up to a month after he damaged his hamstring in training this week. Giovani Lo Celso is also missing, with his hamstring problem proving to be a major issue. There is no set date for
his return but the club are potentially looking at another month.
That could have a major impact on Dele Alli’s chances of a loan move before the end of the transfer window on Monday, with Paris Saint-Germain keen to sign him.
Mourinho insists that Alli is injured anyway but the England midfielder wants game time to stake his claim for the Euros this summer, with PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino out to link up with him again.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is also not keen on a loan move for Alli despite the player falling out of favour under Mourinho and would rather wait to do a permanent transfer in the summer.
Blocking the loan move now would have major consequences for Alli because it would end any chance of him earning an England recall.
Mourinho has insisted that Tottenham will be able to cope without Kane and claimed it could be a chance for Gareth Bale to shine.
Mourinho, whose side go to Brighton tomorrow night, said: “It is a crucial moment for him [Bale], he is feeling better and better and, of course, when you lose a player of Harry’s quality and dimension, the other guys have to step up and hopefully he can help us.”