Harry Kane Hopeful of Being Fit for Champions League Final with Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane said he will "hopefully" recover from an ankle injury in time to feature in the UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool.
Spurs battled back from 2-0 down against Ajax in the second leg of their semi-final in Amsterdam on Wednesday to win 3-2 on the night (3-3 on aggregate) and progress to the final on away goals.
Kane, who has not played for Spurs since the first leg of their quarter-final against Manchester City on April 9, made a beeline for his team-mates at the final whistle. He discussed his fitness with BT Sport's Des Kelly thereafter:
Per MailOnline's Jeorge Bird, when asked whether he'll make the final on June 1, Kane said:
"Hopefully, rehab is going well. I started straight line running this week.
"That's why I ran over there because it was straight and I didn't cut any corners. So far so good and if it keep going like this then it's positive and I'd hope to be fit but there’s still a few weeks to go."
Tottenham lost 1-0 in north London to a goal from Donny van de Beek, and their Champions League hopes looked dashed when they were 2-0 down at half-time on Wednesday.
Matthijs de Ligt rose to head home a corner after just five minutes, and Hakim Ziyech seemed to have put the tie beyond Spurs when he lashed in a strike half an hour later.
Lucas Moura, who started up front in Kane's absence, transformed Spurs' outlook in the second half, though, when he latched on to Dele Alli's ball and coolly stroked it past Andre Onana in the 55th minute.
The Brazilian netted again four minutes later after Ajax failed to clear their lines following a stunning Onana save to deny Fernando Llorente, turning past De Ligt to fire in.
Ziyech and Jan Vertonghen both rattled the woodwork before Moura stole in again in the 96th minute to tuck home a dramatic winner (U.S. and UK only, respectively):
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino will have a selection dilemma if Kane is fit for the final.
Football writer Graham Ruthven expects the England captain to start but thinks Pochettino might be wise not to:
Given the manager is unlikely to drop Heung-Min Son, Alli or Christian Eriksen, Moura could be the man to miss out if Kane returns to the starting XI despite his hat-trick.
The Englishman is Spurs' top scorer this season despite his absences, with 24 goals. He's also a superb passer in the final third.
However, he will do his side no favours if he's rushed back to the starting lineup before he's fit.
Atletico Madrid had to withdraw Diego Costa in the 2014 Champions League final after just nine minutes, having started him before he had recovered from a hamstring issue, and the sight of Kane doing the same would only be a morale boost for Liverpool.
Leaving out Kane would be an enormous call from Pochettino, but if he's not at or close to peak fitness by June 1, it might be the right decision.
