Injured Kane likely to be fit for Arsenal clash says Jose

Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane missed training ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash at Austrian side LASK Linz but could be fit for the North London derby against Arsenal this weekend, manager Jose Mourinho said on Wednesday.

Mourinho did not reveal the nature of Kane’s injury or when he sustained it, only saying that it would rule him out of Thursday’s game.

“… I think he has a good chance (v Arsenal),” Mourinho told a news conference. “I don’t want to lie, I don’t want to hide anything in relation to ‘is he going to play or no?’

“I think he’s going to play. That’s my feeling.”

Mourinho said he would not field a weakened side at LASK with one eye on the Premier League clash against Arsenal.

Tottenham are within touching distance of the knockout stage of Europe’s second-tier club competition with nine points from four matches and two rounds remaining in Group J.

Spurs could also increase their lead at the top of the English top flight on Sunday. They are currently ahead of champions Liverpool on goal difference.

“The priority is always to try to win the next match. The next match is a Europa League match. If at the end of the match we have a draw that’s fine and we’ve qualified before the last match but we’re not going to play for that,” Mourinho said.

“Arsenal doesn’t come into our thinking. When you make changes, you make changes based on problems we had. When we do that, we put trust on the players we have. We don’t weaken the team because the Premier League match is next.”

Defender Toby Alderweireld returned to training from a groin issue but Sergio Reguilon, Erik Lamela and Carlos Vinicius all missed the early part of training on Wednesday.