YOU ARE MY SONSHINE
Pochettino hails match- winner but fears Kane out for season
Son Heung-min fired Tottenham to a euphoric Champions League victory over manchester City last night but their elation was dampened by fears Harry Kane could miss the rest of the season.
The South Korean’s 78th-minute strike gave Spurs a 1-0 lead ahead of next week’s quarterfinal second leg at the etihad Stadium. Liverpool beat Porto 2-0 at Anfield.
Spurs boss mauricio Pochettino said: ‘Son deserved his goal. He ticks all the boxes. if there is one player who deserves to score it is him.’ Son
has now scored in both games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as his side maintained their 100 per cent record at their new ground.
Kane limped off with an injury to his left ankle and Pochettino said: ‘We are worried he could miss the rest of the season. It is so painful but what can we do? If you see the action it shows he twisted his ankle and maybe damaged the ligaments again.
‘We will check in the next few days. We hope it’s not a big issue and he can recover as soon as possible but it doesn’t look good.’
Kane took a nasty blow in a 50/50 challenge with England team- mate Fabian Delph.
The striker, who left the stadium on crutches, damaged ligaments in the same ankle in January, causing him to miss five weeks of the season.
A similar lay-off would not only cause Kane to miss the rest of Spurs’ season, it would also make him a huge doubt for England’s UEFA Nations League campaign in June.
Kane will undergo a series of tests, but Spurs will wait for the swelling to reduce before making a definitive diagnosis.
Pochettino appeared to have stern words with Delph after the incident, but the Spurs manager said: ‘I was talking with Delph about the situation because he was so upset. So I tried to tell him it wasn’t the intention of him or Harry to damage each other.’
The injury dampened some of the joy of last night’s epic win that gives Spurs a slight edge ahead of next’s return leg.
City boss Pep Guardiola has called on his players to rise to the challenge of overturning the deficit next week.
‘The result is not the best one but it is just one goal and in the Champions League you have to make these kinds of comebacks to go through.
‘I don’t have the feeling we played bad. The result wasn’t good, but last season (a 3-0 defeat at Liverpool in the quarterfinals) was much, much worse.
‘We will see how we change with our fans at home. We will see. The guys who arrive in the last stages, you have to do that.
‘If you are not able to do that, it’s a challenge.’
Tottenham could face a charge from UEFA after the closing stages of last night’s clash were marred by a pitch invader, who appeared to make a beeline for Delph.