Jose Mourinho: Harry Kane is irreplaceable

Harry Kane

London: Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho said he would get "depressed" if he wallowed in the news that Harry Kane is to be missing for at least three months. The Spurs striker has undergone surgery on a torn hamstring that will see him miss the majority of the remainder of the season at club level and in a race to be match fit to lead England at Euro 2020. "If I speak too much about Harry, I get a bit depressed and then you are going to say he is miserable and in a bad mood," said Mourinho, ahead of Premier League leaders Liverpool's visit to north London on Saturday.

"Harry is irreplaceable. You know that we cannot play like we normally play when Harry Kane is in the team. We cannot do it the same way as we do with Harry." Spurs have been linked with a move for AC Milan's Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek as cover for Kane's absence with Tottenham needing to chase down a six-point gap to Chelsea to qualify for the Champions League next season. However, Mourinho said he is willing to wait until the summer to add to his squad. "If the boss arrives with the solution for these difficult months then so be it," added the Portuguese.

"But if we don't find the right opportunity or the right solution we are going to wait until summer to make decision for the evolution of the team." Kane is just one of a host of absences Mourinho must contend with for the visit of the European champions, who are looking for a record 20th win from their opening 21 games to the league season. Moussa Sissoko is also absent until April, while Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies, Danny Rose and Tanguy Ndombele remain out. Club captain Lloris has at least returned to training after three months out with a dislocated elbow suffered in a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Brighton in October.

The French number one has yet to feature under Mourinho, but he is looking forward to being able to call on Lloris's experience after a difficult spell for Paulo Gazzaniga in goal. "Lloris has not played a game for me. Ben has played one and did very, very well. It's good news. By the end of the month we will have two new players," Mourinho added. "We have a goalkeeper that is doing his best and we have confidence in him but for Hugo to be back after such an important injury is good for him."

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