Tottenham’s flagging season has been given a major boost by the news that Harry Kane should be able to return from his ankle injury next week and could even feature in next Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Everton.
Kane sustained knocks to both ankles in last Thursday’s defeat by Liverpool and there were initial concerns that he could be out for a number of weeks. However, the issue is not serious and José Mourinho expects him to be ready for the visit to Manchester City on 13 February if the Everton match comes too soon. There is a chance Dele Alli could make a comeback of his own in the near future, with Mourinho explaining the pair have found “common ground” in sketching out the player’s potential return to favour.
Mourinho’s relief about Kane’s prognosis was clear. “I think it’s not a very optimistic thing to say that next week he should be playing,” he said. “I think it will just be a consequence of his good evolution.
“So we’re happy. We were a bit scared when everything happened but now we’re much more positive. I believe for one of those matches [Everton and City] he should be back.”
Alli had been slated for a loan move to Paris Saint-Germain during the transfer window but that was shelved because Giovani Lo Celso is expected to miss the next three weeks with a hamstring problem. His lack of involvement has been a thorny issue all season but Mourinho said the door was open to him once he shakes off a tendon injury.
“He needs to recover his injury, he needs to be back in training and have a fresh start,” he said. “I had a good conversation with him yesterday. We spoke around [what Alli must do in order to play] and we found very common ground, let’s say … Of course, a conversation doesn’t make miracles or put a player in great form. But I believe the conversation was maybe the extra motivation he needed to be back as soon as possible and become available for the team.”
Asked whether Alli could become a leader in this Spurs team, as he arguably was for spells of Mauricio Pochettino’s reign, Mourinho emphasised the need to rediscover his form.
“Leadership on the pitch, leadership in the dressing room? That is a different story,” he said. “But a fundamental player that on the pitch can be very important for the team? Yes, the good Dele Alli – like you said, two years ago he was this, two years ago he was that. The good Dele Alli can be very, very important for Tottenham.”
Spurs host Chelsea on Thursday and Serge Aurier, omitted from Sunday’s insipid defeat at Brighton, returns to the squad. Tottenham are level with Thomas Tuchel’s side, having played a game less, and can ill afford to lose further ground to the top four.
Mourinho was generous in praising Tuchel, who he said would “fit in well at a club like Chelsea”. He did, however, deadpan that the club’s ability to attract players made a manager’s job easier. “I don’t think it’s very difficult to coach at Chelsea because I was champion three times, [Carlo] Ancelotti was champion, Antonio Conte was champion,” he said. “Who else? It cannot be very, very difficult because we win titles there.
“Chelsea always has great players and great squads. Good coaches are happy to work with these clubs and with players that give you a very good opportunity to be successful and to win titles.”
