The latest injury update on Harry Kane is not a good one.
He will be missing until at least April as Tottenham Hotspur confirmed he ruptured a tendon in his left hamstring.
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Kane, 26, suffered the injury on New Year’s Day in the 1-0 defeat at Southampton and he will now undergo surgery.
Spurs released the following statement on Thursday as they will now face Liverpool this Saturday (Watch live, 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC and online via NBCSports.com) without Kane, as Jose Mourinho may have to dive into the January transfer window to try and replace him.
“Following ongoing assessment by our medical staff over the past week, we can confirm that Harry Kane will undergo surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his left hamstring. The striker suffered the injury during our Premier League fixture against Southampton last week and specialists have advised surgery after further review of the injury. The decision to undergo surgery is not expected to impact the timeframe that the England captain will be sidelined, with the expectation that he will return to training in April.”
This news leaves Tottenham’s top four hopes in tatters, as they currently sit six points off the UEFA Champions League spots and will now be without their main man for the majority of the second half of the season.
That sound you can hear is Mourinho hammering his fist on his desk in frustration.
Losing Kane is like ripping the soul out of this Spurs team. He makes everything tick and sets the tone from the front, as well as scoring the vast majority of their goals which has been vital this season as defensive issues have persisted.
Since Mourinho arrived there has also been a more direct manner to their game with defenders clipping the ball up to Kane and hoping he can do the rest. He is their talisman and now he will be missing until at least mid-April.
Mourinho now knows the English national team captain is out for their Champions League Round of 16 clashes against RB Leipzig in late February and early March, and there seems to be a suggestion that he may not play again this season.
Tottenham’s top four hopes and chances of advancing in Europe have taken a big hit due to Kane’s injury as he was forced to play the entirety of the festive fixtures due to Heung-min Son’s red card against Chelsea. Now it is all on Son to step up and deliver goals in Kane’s absence, just like he’s done in previous seasons.
As for Kane, England will be sweating on his fitness ahead of EURO 2020 and although Spurs have rushed him back from ankle issues in the past a hamstring issues is an entirely different proposition.
Kane needs to rest and Tottenham need a miracle if they’re going to finish in the top four this season.