Tottenham Hotspur could reportedly be without Harry Kane for the rest of the season.
Gary Neville has told Monday Night Football on Sky Sports (broadcast on 15/4 from 19:00) that Tottenham’s attacking options give them a real chance of knocking Manchester City out of the Champions League, but insisted that you cannot say that Spurs are a better team without Harry Kane.
As reported by The Telegraph, Kane could miss the rest of the season after limping off during the first-leg, but is holding out some hope that he could still be available for the Champions League final if Spurs get there.
City have been favourites to win their quarter-final tie, and some would have been even more tempted to write Spurs off once Kane was substituted. But Son Heung-min would then score the winner, and they have since gone on to thrash Huddersfield 4-0.
Tottenham have done superbly whenever they have been without Kane. And while Neville insisted that they are not better off without their talisman, he did suggest that they do have the tools to book their ticket to the semi-final. He also explained how important the first-leg result could be.
“You can’t say they’re better without him, they’re different. But they’re having some success without him. With Harry Kane, you’ve got a point where basically, you’re playing in and around him and Harry needs runners in behind him. He’s mobile, don’t get me wrong,” he told Monday Night Football, when asked if Spurs are stronger without Kane.
“But if you think about going to the Etihad in the Champions League this week with Son, Alli, Lucas Moura, you’ve got real mobility there and the setup to cause City a real problem on the counter attack. And they did win the ball high up the pitch Spurs, they are good at winning the ball back and pressing.
“I think they’ve got a real chance. That result last week is one of the best results that you can get. The clean sheet at home in the first-leg of a Champions League game is critical and it gives you a massive chance in the second-leg.”
Of course, Pochettino would prefer to have Kane in his ranks for Wednesday’s tie. But their record without him must surely be better than any other Premier League side’s record when they have lost their most important player.
Nevertheless, their achievement would be all the more incredible if they could continue their run in the Champions League over the coming weeks given that Kane could well end up playing no further part.
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