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Tottenham's Harry Kane to Undergo Surgery on Hamstring Injury, out Until April
January 9, 2020
Harry Kane is set for surgery to fix the hamstring he tore during Tottenham Hotspur's 1-0 defeat away to Southampton in the Premier League on New Year's Day.
Spurs confirmed the planned procedure in a statement on the club's official website on Thursday. The decision has been made because "specialists have advised surgery after further review of the injury."
Significantly, the club said that "surgery is not expected to impact the timeframe that the England captain will be sidelined, with the expectation that he will return to training in April."
Kane's prolonged absence will demand Jose Mourinho gets creative about how he deploys his attacking options. The 56-year-old has so far sounded unconvinced his squad has the resources to cope without Kane.
Mourinho told reporters his team played "without a striker" during the 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough in the 2020 FA Cup third round, per Dan Kilpatrick of the London Evening Standard.
The Tottenham boss doesn't believe versatile forward Heung-Min Son nor winger Lucas Moura can play the centre-forward role the way Kane can. It's a contentious argument, even though Son is often at his best playing on the left side of a front three, while Moura has also done most of his damage from the flanks.
Both players excel when running at defences from deeper starting positions than Kane:
What Spurs lack is a striker who can be effective in the air and dominate in the box the way Kane does. It means the Lilywhites may have to step up their efforts to bolster the position during the January transfer window.
Spurs are reportedly already considering options, including AC Milan's Krzysztof Piatek, per Mike McGrath of The Telegraph. Mourinho will need a consistent goalscorer in the middle to boost Tottenham's chances of overturning a six-point deficit to Chelsea, finishing in the top four and qualifying for next season's UEFA Champions League.
As for Kane, one more injury at a key moment creates worries beyond club level. He now faces a race to be fully fit for England's UEFA Euro 2020 campaign in the summer:
Kane suffered an ankle problem late last season that ultimately cost him the chance to be at his best when Spurs faced Liverpool in the Champions League final. Tottenham lost the game 2-0, with Kane looking as though he came back too soon.
He won't want to have an injury deny him another chance to win a major trophy.