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We’ve been waiting with bated breath for news about Harry Kane’s ankle, and it looks like we finally have our answer. Kind of. Tottenham Hotspur announced on Twitter and on their website that Harry has sustained damage to the lateral ligaments of his right ankle.
TEAM NEWS: Preliminary assessments have confirmed that @HKane has damaged lateral ligaments in his right ankle.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 14, 2018
The England striker sustained the injury following a challenge in our 4-1 win over Bournemouth on Sunday and is expected to return to First Team training next month. pic.twitter.com/q4sOSJHhPT
If the possible date of Harry’s return to fitness looks a little vague in that tweet, well, that’s because it is. The club seemed to put in a lot of wiggle room for Harry’s return — “expected to return to First Team training next month” could mean he could return by the first of April, or he could return by April 30. That’s a pretty big swing, but recovery times for ankle injuries can be difficult to gague.
So let’s hedge our bets here and say that Kane’s likely to be out for three to six weeks. That means that he’d return to training (not fitness) at minimum after the Chelsea match on April 6, but worst case could also miss matches at Stoke, vs. Manchester City, at Brighton, and vs. Watford. The rescheduled Newcastle match will also likely fit in there as well.
That’s bad news for Spurs, obviously, and also bad news for Kane’s ability to earn his third consecutive Golden Boot award. But it also means that Kane should be back for the end of the season and will almost certainly be okay for the World Cup.
Could be a lot worse.