Tottenham star set to miss key Chelsea & Arsenal games after crushing injury blow

Harry Kane is set to miss crucial games against Chelsea and Arsenal after being ruled out until March with an ankle ligament injury that he suffered during Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United.

Kane endured a frustrating afternoon at Wembley on Sunday as he saw a number of chances superbly saved by the in-form David De Gea as United dealt Tottenham’s title hopes a severe blow thanks to Marcus Rashford’s winner shortly before half time.

The striker then needed treatment after the final whistle after being on the wrong end of a late tackle from Victor Lindelof and Kane was barely able to walk himself off the pitch after the game.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino confirmed to reporters in his post-match interview that Kane’s ankle was badly swollen and he feared losing his talisman to yet another ankle injury – his third in three seasons.

Those fears have now been realised as Tottenham released an update on Tuesday night confirming Kane has suffered ankle ligament damage and won’t return to training until the early part of March.

A statement on TottenhamHotspur.com said:

Following preliminary assessments, we can confirm that Harry Kane has damaged ligaments in his left ankle, sustained during Sunday’s match against Manchester United.

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.

This is a crushing blow for Tottenham as Kane has once again been a focal point in their starting eleven having scored 20 goals already this season and his absence is going to be sorely felt.

The 25-year-old will now miss the second leg of Tottenham’s Carabao Cup semi-final with Chelsea and the final in late February if Spurs were to make it to Wembley while he’ll also sit out the FA Cup trip to Crystal Palace.

Kane will miss Premier League games with Fulham, Watford, Newcastle, Leicester City, Burnley and Chelsea while the North London Derby with Arsenal on March 2nd is also expected to come too soon unless he makes a miraculous recovery.

In a further blow for Tottenham, Kane will miss the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with Borussia Dortmund while the striker could also miss the return leg in Germany on March 5th.

With Hueng-min Son at the Asia Cup and Lucas Moura struggling with a knee injury, Pochettino has seen his attacking options decimated and the Spurs boss may now be forced to rely on out-of-favour striker Fernando Llorente over the coming weeks.