Kane set for 2 months out with ankle injury

LONDON — Tottenham striker Harry Kane was ruled out for around two months on Tuesday because of ligament damage in his left ankle, dealing a huge blow to the English team's chances of winning a first piece of silverware under Mauricio Pochettino.

The England captain was not expected to return to training until early March, Tottenham said , after getting injured in the last seconds of the 1-0 loss to Manchester United on Sunday.

That rules Kane out of at least seven Premier League games, and probably both legs of Tottenham's Champions League last-16 match against Borussia Dortmund.

Kane also is sure to miss the second leg of Tottenham's English League Cup semifinal against Chelsea, as well as the Feb 24 final should his team advance. Tottenham has a 1-0 lead from the first leg, courtesy of a penalty from Kane.

That was one of his 21 goals for club and country this season, with Kane continuing his remarkable scoring form since bursting into Tottenham's senior team in the 2014-15 campaign.

He has twice finished a season as the Premier League's top scorer, and won the Golden Boot at last year's World Cup in Russia with six goals as England reached the semifinals.

Since Pochettino became Tottenham manager in 2014, Kane has scored 36 percent of the team's league goals, according to data supplier Opta.

"Injuries are part of the game," Kane said in a tweet, "but no one will be working harder to get back fit."

Tottenham's other main source of goals in recent months has been Son Heung-min, but the South Korea forward has just left the club to join up with his national team at the Asian Cup.

Son isn't expected back until early February, meaning he will miss at least five games in all competitions.

Tottenham is in third place in the Premier League, nine points behind leader Liverpool. It is also through to the fourth round of the FA Cup, with Pochettino's side away to Crystal Palace on Jan 27.

In the absence of Kane and Son, Pochettino could turn to either Fernando Llorente, who has mainly been used as a late impact substitute in matches this season, or attacking midfielder Dele Alli as the main striker.

The coach has already said Vincent Jansson, who hasn't played for Tottenham since August 2017 but is still at the club, will not be called on.

AP