LONDON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Tottenham and England risk losing striker and captain Harry Kane for the rest of the season, after he suffered an ankle injury in the first leg of his side's Champions League quarterfinal against Manchester City on Tuesday night.
Tottenham won the game 1-0 thanks to a Son Heung-Min goal with 12 minutes remaining, but by then Kane was already back in the dressing room after damaging his left ankle following a 55th minute tackle from Manchester City's Fabian Delph.
The high challenge injured the same ankle that Kane damaged against Manchester United in January, which left him out of action for around six weeks.
It is the fifth ankle ligament injury Kane has suffered in his career, with three separate injuries to his right ankle.
Speaking to the press after the game, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino expressed his fears that it could be a season-ending injury.
"I am worried he will miss the rest of the season. We hope it's not a big issue and he can recover as soon as possible but it doesn't look good," lamented the Argentinian.
"If you see the action, it shows he twisted his ankle and maybe damaged the ligaments again. We will check in the next few days. It is so painful, but what can we do?" added Pochettino.
The coach was also seen speaking to England international Delph in the players' tunnel.
"I said to him he was lucky because the referee was checking and maybe the way the action was, it could have been a red card. But I think both were fighting for the ball and had no intention to hurt each other. The conversation was very friendly," he insisted.
Kane has virtually no chance of recovering for the return leg in Manchester City's Etihad Stadium next week, and doubts must be raised over whether he will recover in time to lead England into the final four of the UEFA Nations League, which will be played in Portugal in early June.
