Robbie Walls
Jose Mourinho has revealed why Harry Kane was absent from Tottenham’s Europa League win over Wolfsberger and also when the England captain will be back in action.
Spurs’ first-leg tie saw them put on a devastating first-half showing to all but secure their place in the last-16, despite having been without star man Kane who was not involved for the trip to Budapest.
Even without the the 27-year-old, Jose Mourinho’s side looked impressive in attack, with Gareth Bale teeing up Heung-Min Son to head home after just 13 minutes.
Soon after, Bale added the goal his performance deserved, cutting inside beautifully onto his left foot before firing past ‘keeper Alexander Kofler.
A superb solo effort from Lucas Moura looked to have killed the tie before half-time, yet a clumsy challenge by Moussa Sissoko in the box gave the ‘home’ side a route back into the game, Michael Liendl converting from the spot.
However, a late Carlos Vinicius goal essentially booked the Premier League side’s place in the next round of the competition, with the second leg to come next week, following a clash with an in-form West Ham on Sunday.
While Mourinho’s men weren’t left ruing the absence of Kane, they will be hoping he is available to face the Hammers this weekend, with the Spurs boss insisting that he should be ‘OK’ for Sunday’s fixture.
‘I believe so, but experienced guy that had injuries in the past, he knows his body better than anyone,’ Mourinho told his post match press conference.
‘He knows that I want him to play every minute of every game, so it’s never a question of a choice.
‘I wanted to come here with the best team and the players that could give us more opportunities to win the game and get a good result, but he made the decision based on his feelings.
‘His feelings were that to play this game could be a risk with the accumulation of minutes and the accumulation of minutes after the injury that he had.
‘Of course myself and the medical department, we agreed with him in giving him this opportunity to take care of his condition, but I believe on Sunday he will be OK and ready.’
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