There are few more worrying sights for Mauricio Pochettino than that of Harry Kane limping off the pitch.
That’s exactly what the England striker did in the 10th minute of Spurs’ FA Cup game against Millwall, replaced by Christian Eriksen.
The Dane would go on to score the opening goal in a 6-0 win that was only overshadowed a little by the travelling fans, who are now facing an investigation.
A Heung-Min Son hat-trick and goals from Dele Alli and even Vincent Janssen eased Spurs into the semi-finals, and they certainly picked a good time to start scoring.
Kane has already missed nearly two months of the current season, and Pochettino will need his other regular goalscorers to fill the void – potentially until late April if his injury is as bad as it was the first time.
Son and Alli can be relied upon, but Janssen’s goal was particularly surprising.
It was the Dutchman’s first from open play since he joined from AZ Alkmaar in a £17million deal last summer.
As the ball fell delightfully into the bottom-left corner, the entire team ran to celebrate with the beleaguered Janssen, who is fighting to save his Tottenham career.
Reflecting on the goal, Pochettino told a press conference:
“All the squad and the team-mates are really happy [for Vincent].
“Of course [it can be a turning point]. I have told you that in the last few months he has stepped up and started to work better, and I was happy in the way he was performing in training. In football you need to be ready to show your quality.”
It could now fall to the 22-year-old to maintain Spurs’ brilliant recent form in Kane’s absence.
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