Harry Kane ready to start against Manchester United, says Mourinho
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane will start against Manchester United tomorrow morning (Singapore time) after a six-month absence, according to manager Jose Mourinho.
Son Heung Min and Moussa Sissoko, who like Kane were ruled out by serious injuries when the EPL was suspended three months ago, are also set to face United.
| TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR | MANCHESTER UNITED |
The news is a big boost to Spurs as they try to revive their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, having slipped to eighth in the standings, four points behind fifth-placed United and seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
Kane ruptured a tendon in his hamstring on Jan 1 while Son broke his arm against Aston Villa in February. Midfielder Sissoko had right knee surgery in January.
"The ones that had surgeries, Kane, Son and Sissoko have all recovered and are ready to play," Mourinho, who will be going up against the club that sacked him last season, told a news conference via Zoom yesterday.
"Kane is working extremely well, I can tell you no problem he is going to start the game. Does he have 90 minutes, 80, 70, 60? I don't know. Only the game will tell us that.
"Is he in his top of his form? We don't know. He's had six months without a match but he's an amazing professional."
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba will also be available for the match, having recovered from injuries during the lockdown.
He expressed a note of caution though, saying: "They're available so how long they're going to play for, let's see."
UPHILL CHALLENGE
Mourinho added that while the return of Kane and Son, who have scored 20 league goals between them this season, is timely, the battle to finish in the Champions League places is an uphill challenge for Spurs.
"It would be amazing if we all started with the same number of points, but that's not the case," Mourinho said. "We start minus seven or eight from Chelsea, and minus 13 from Leicester, we start minus too many teams.
"It's a great challenge and motivation. At the end of the nine matches we will see what we did and what the others did."
Mourinho said that tomorrow's home fixture, that will be played in an empty stadium, feels similar to the first game of the season, albeit under very different circumstances.
"After more than two decades in football it's hard for me to say something is new, but this is a new, " he said. - REUTERS
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