in

Will Harry Kane return for the Champions League final?

Anyone who watched Tottenham’s heroics in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final match against Dutch club Ajax will have seen an ‘injured’ Harry Kane celebrating with his teammates at the final whistle.

He suffered an ankle injury after a clash with Fabian Delph during Spurs’ first-leg match against Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Liverpool are the current favourites to win the Champions League according to Betfair, but if Kane can be confirmed to be fit, those odds might even out a bit.

His importance to Spurs

Since his emergence in the first team, Kane has become increasingly important to the performance of the team. Last season, the England striker managed 30 goals in 37 appearances, finishing in second place, just two goals behind Liverpool’s Golden Boot winner, Mohamed Salah.

This season, he has scored just 17 goals in the Premier League, but with several injuries, he has struggled to find a consistent run of form in the team, ultimately hampering his goal return.

Record breaker

When Harry Kane scored against Cardiff City earlier this season, he became the first player to score against every Premier League club he has faced. Legendary Arsenal striker Thierry Henry only managed to score against 34 of his 35 Premier League opponents while the Premier League’s all-time top scorer Alan Shearer could only manage to score against 37 of the 39 teams he faced.

Embed from Getty Images

Will he make one more appearance?

There is one more opportunity for Kane to make an appearance for Spurs before the 2018/19 season comes to a close. Given his celebrations on the pitch against Ajax, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he could be fully fit for the Champions League final.

With just under three weeks to go until the big final, Kane will no doubt be desperately trying to get fit so that he can help his Spurs teammates lift the prestigious Champions League trophy. Having not won a trophy in his career, this presents the perfect opportunity to prove Spurs’ doubters wrong.

He also knows that if Spurs don’t win the Champions League, they face losing some of their top talents in the summer. There are news reports circulating that Danish midfield star Christian Eriksen could be on his way out of the club, with Real Madrid apparently interested.

Although Kane looks to be close to full fitness, given his lack of match sharpness, it might be wiser for manager Mauricio Pochettino to leave Kane on the subs bench. While it might seem mad to have your best striker start the biggest match of their season on the bench, it will allow Spurs to introduce him when the Liverpool defenders are a bit more fatigued, which might just provide the club with the perfect opportunity to win Europe’s biggest club prize.