Kane injury could leave Tottenham striker-light

Tottenham are anxiously waiting on news of Harry Kane's ankle injury sustained against Manchester United on Sunday.

The England captain went down at the end of the 1-0 defeat and walked off very gingerly, with boss Mauricio Pochettino admitting he was worried.

It is not the first time Kane has suffered ankle problems, having sustained similar-looking injuries in each of the last two seasons.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at the extent of those injuries, how Spurs coped without him and who might cover him this season if he is set for a spell in the treatment room.

September – November 2016

Kane first sustained an ankle injury in a 1-0 Premier League win over Sunderland in September 2016 – where he scored the winner. He fell awkwardly in the final few minutes and scans revealed ligament damage. He ended up missing 10 Tottenham games in total, also missing an international break and returned for a 1-1 draw at Arsenal on November 6. Spurs had a mixed time without him, winning the first four games of his absence, including a 2-0 success over Manchester City, but then things went south as they lost two and drew four of the next six – a run of games which saw them knocked out of the EFL Cup and suffer damaging results in their Champions League group campaign.

March – April 2017

The England striker suffered a repeat problem in the early stages of the 6-0 FA Cup win at Millwall in March 2017. He tangled with Jake Cooper after getting a shot away and was unable to continue. Fears were that he would be out for a similar period to his absence earlier in the same season but he only missed three Spurs games, all of which resulted in wins. He returned as a substitute against Watford in early April.

March – April 2018

Almost one year on from his last problem, Kane went down again and it was a worrying time for both Tottenham and England fans ahead of the World Cup. It looked serious as the striker had to limp off against Bournemouth after being caught trying to turn the ball into the net. However, it was a quickfire recovery from Kane, who only missed one Tottenham game, along with two England matches as he returned for the away win at Chelsea. Spurs won their only game without him, an FA Cup success at Swansea.

Who will replace Kane this time round?

Any lengthy absence for Kane could not have come at a worse time for Spurs as it leaves them severely short of attacking options ahead of an important part of the season. Son Heung-min left for international duty on Sunday night, going to the United Arab Emirates to join up with South Korea's Asian Cup squad. Lucas Moura is on the comeback trail from injury himself, having missed the last two games with a knee problem, while Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen are expected to leave the club this month.