Mourinho confident Kane will be fit to face Arsenal

Jose Mourinho says he’s confident Harry Kane will be fit for north London derby against Arsenal despite Tottenham striker needing ice on his knee after picking up a knock in 2-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb

  • Jose Mourinho is confident Harry Kane will be fit to face Arsenal on Sunday 
  • Kane scored twice in a 2-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb before being substituted 
  • The striker needed ice on his knee after picking up a knock in the second half
  • Mourinho said he does not believe the injury he sustained was anything serious 

Jose Mourinho believes Harry Kane will be fit to face Arsenal on Sunday despite the striker needing ice on his knee after picking up a knock against Dinamo Zagreb.

Kane scored twice to give Spurs a comfortable victory in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie but was quickly substituted when he went down in pain in the 82nd minute.

The 27-year-old was seen getting some treatment on the injury while he sat on the bench for the remainder of the game but Mourinho played down any fears that it could affect his involvement in the north London derby this weekend. 

Jose Mourinho believes that Harry Kane will be fit to face rivals Arsenal on Sunday

The striker was substituted in the win over Dinamo Zagreb after going down in pain

Kane was seen getting some ice on his knee as he sat on the bench for the rest of the match

‘Harry, I don’t believe is anything big,’ the Spurs boss said.

‘Sunday is a match everyone wants to play and little things will not stop him. I don’t have the feeling it is anything serious. Let’s see the reaction tomorrow but I am sure he will be fine.’

Kane put in a man-of-the-match performance with two clinical finishes in each half to take his goal tally to 26 for the season. The striker also played a role in preserving the team’s clean sheet with a number of important clearances.

The forward scored a goal in each half to give his side a comfortable first leg victory

‘He is doing everything,’ Mourinho said of Kane’s performance. ‘He is doing the striker job of scoring goals, the team work of creating space and linking play and the extra work not many strikers do in defence. He helps us a lot. 

‘Some strikers score lots of goals and that is the most important thing in football for a striker, which he does, but apart from that he understands every tip we give him, in terms of his positioning, movement, he understands the game very well.

‘He feels the spaces, he looks around to see where other players are and he can affect the game. He is really a very good player.

‘He has an incredible number of clearances from crosses and corners. We couldn’t be happier. I gave a rest to many of the players and am so happy with what Vinicius is giving us. But with Harry on the pitch it is a different story for us.’

The manager admitted he would have liked his side to have scored another goal ahead of the second leg in Croatia next week and insisted there was still a long way to go before securing progress to the quarter-finals.

‘I believe one more goal would be a good reflection of the game and would put us in a much better position,’ Mourinho added. 

‘But before the game if you asked if 2-0 was a good result I would say “it is only a good result if we do the job there.” 

The striker took his goal tally to 26 for the season but also did important defensive work

‘It will be a difficult match. At home they will feel more comfortable to have a go with nothing to lose.’

Spurs have now won their last five games in all competitions ahead of their clash with bitter rivals Arsenal at the Emirates.

The Gunners were also victorious in the first leg of their Europa League tie, beating Olympiacos 3-1 thanks to goals from Martin Odegaard, Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny.

Dinamo Zagreb coach Zoran Mamic called Kane a ‘master of football’ but insisted he had not given up hope of his side producing a comeback in the second leg.

‘Kane showed us again what a master of football he is,’ he said. ‘The second goal, the way he calmed the situation and then his shot was impossible to defend.

‘There I always hope in football, anything is possible, we must believe. You enter every game to win and you cannot start a game thinking we are definitely going to lose. I think we are going to have more chances in Zagreb.’




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