Jose Mourinho is hopeful that Harry Kane’s injury can open the door for Gareth Bale to emerge as a huge player for Tottenham Hotspur once again.
Kane is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury in the 3-1 defeat by Liverpool in North London on Thursday.
Since returning to Tottenham, Bale, who’s on loan from Real Madrid, has only played 159 minutes of Premier League football under Mourinho.
It’s fair to say that the 31-year-old hasn’t yet shown glimpses of being the same player who ripped defences to shreds in this division prior to joining Real in 2013.
And Mourinho has told Football London that it’s now a ‘crucial moment’ for Bale in light of Kane’s absence.
Asked whether Bale would step up now, Mourinho said: “Yeah, hope so. He didn’t play much, he played 15 mins with the team losing 3-1 and at that moment, of course, Liverpool comfortable and controlling the game.
“But is a crucial moment for him, 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.”
One other player who Mourinho might turn to is Carlos Vinicius.
The big Brazilian striker joined on loan from Benfica last summer but has only featured for 24 minutes in the Premier League, indicating that the Portuguese coach isn’t a huge admirer of him either.
But he’s literally the only other out-and-out striker available to Mourinho for at least a month, so his game time should, in theory, increase.
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