Tottenham striker Harry Kane’s injury scare could hand Clinton Njie Spurs debut in Anderlecht Europa League clash
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino admits he may rest England striker Harry Kane for tonight’s Europa League fixture at Anderlecht for fear of adding to a growing injury list.
Pochettino this week saw Nacer Chadli become the latest Spurs forward to be ruled out for more than a month, with £21m summer signing Heung-Min Son a previous casualty.
The Argentinian is in no mood to let Kane follow suit, despite the 22-year-old’s eagerness to run off a minor knock sustained in Saturday’s goalless draw with Liverpool.
Kane’s absence would pave the way for another recent arrival, Cameroon attacker Clinton Njie, to make his first start since his £12m transfer from Lyon.
“We have Son and Nacer Chadli who can play as a striker and Njie and Kane today available,” said Pochettino.
“We need to assess because at the end of the game against Liverpool, Harry had a small problem. He had a knock, not an injury.
“It is possible he will start on the bench. We need to manage in a good way and assess and analyse every little detail. The player always wants to play. Afterwards I decide if the player is wrong.”
Kane has struggled to hit the heights of last season, in which he was voted young player of the year by his peers, scoring just once in 12 club appearances.
Regardless of whether he is selected for the Group J contest, Anderlecht manager Besnik Hasi insists he expects to face a strong Tottenham side, who sit top of the standings after two matches.
“Whatever they put out there they are still a very big team,” he said. “Spurs are a very strong team with a lot of power in central areas and the defenders come very high and they are very dangerous in the last quarter of the pitch. They have quick players and we will need to be careful with our organisation.”