Tottenham round-up: Kane injury prognosis; Spurs interested in Las Palmas midfielder

By Scott Challinor

It was the news that all Tottenham fans feared, but they will be without leading scorer and talisman Harry Kane for roughly seven weeks after scans revealed that the England forward has suffered ankle ligament damage.

Kane left White Hart Lane after Spurs’ FA Cup win over Millwall on crutches whilst wearing a protective boot, after limping off the field ten minutes into the quarter-final tie after rolling his ankle in a challenge with Lions defender Jake Cooper.

Tottenham confirmed the news in a statement on their official website, whilst also claiming that the injury is not thought to be as severe as the injury he incurred at Sunderland, which saw him miss seven games in league and cup.

http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/first-team/general/harry-kane-injury-update-140317/

It reads: “The injury is similar to the one suffered by the forward against Sunderland in September last year. However, it is not considered to be as severe. Harry will continue to be assessed by our medical staff while he undergoes his rehabilitation at our training centre.”

That previous injury kept him out for roughly seven weeks, and if he is back within that time frame, he may still be fit for Tottenham’s FA Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea on the weekend of the 22-23 April, a critical fixture, since victory would see them in with a chance of winning their first piece of silverware in nine years. Spurs will more than likely try to ease the forward back into contention sooner than that if his recovery progresses well, as they look to close in on confirming their top-four place.

They have a key North London Derby match against bitter rivals Arsenal to come on 30 April, just one week after the FA Cup semi-final, which may go a long way in deciding their fate in the league, and they will be hoping to have their leading marksman fit for a derby of such magnitude.

A return to league action sooner rather than later will also be on the mind of Kane himself. He is currently level, on 19 goals a piece, with Everton’s Romelu Lukaku in the race for the 2016/17 Golden Boot, and will be hoping that this injury will not be detrimental to his prospects of achieving the feat for a second successive season.

In the short-term, Spurs have the cushion of the international break to aid Kane’s recovery, but it will be a blow to England as he is likely to sit out the friendly against Germany and the 2018 World Cup qualifying clash with Lithuania later this month.

Meanwhile, interesting reports are emerging from Spain from leading sports outlet Marca, who claim that Tottenham are amongst three parties from the Premier League interested in acquiring Las Palmas midfielder Roque Mesa.

The 27-year-old midfielder joined the side in 2010 and has since become a key figure for the Gran Canaria outfit, who have since won promotion to La Liga and established themselves in the Spanish top-flight, where they currently sit 12th ahead of a home clash with Villarreal on Friday.

Mesa has featured on 25 occasions for the Canary Islanders this season, and a string of impressive performances are thought to have drawn the gaze of Mauricio Pochettino- who managed in La Liga with Espanyol- and Tottenham, as well as Merseyside clubs Liverpool and Everton.

The report also claims that Mesa is drawing interest from elsewhere in Europe, with Bayern Munich earmarked as another giant to be keeping tabs on the midfield man.

It may not take a significant investment for Spurs or any other suitor to prise the player away from Estadio Gran Canaria either. He is believed to have a buy-out clause of approximately £26.2million in his current deal with Las Palmas, but Marca claim the club may be prepared to part company with the midfielder for as much as a third of that sum.

Pochettino has been known to favour such thrifty deals for more youthful players, however, so it remains to be seen as to whether the North Londoners will table any bid for the player.

Featured Image: All Rights Reserved by Serg Hoholok.