Kane had to be stretchered off after badly turning his ankle in a sliding challenge on Papy Djilobodji, having earlier scored the game’s only goal in the 59th minute. “It’s hard with holidays and pre-season and it’s hard to get fit”.
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Tottenham boss Maurocio Pochettino stated after the match that: “I’m sure there may be a problem with his ligaments but it’s hard to assess today”.
We’ll see tomorrow how is [Kane’s] ankle.
The Tottenham manager also believed the rigours of Champions League football and worldwide tournaments are already starting to take their toll, with Mousa Dembele also leaving the field due to cramp.
“When you’re in different competitions, the Champions League is a different competition, we spent a lot of energy on Wednesday – it’s different to the Europa League. We have a good mix between experienced players and young talented players, but the only way to know [how strong our squad is] is to see at the end of the season”.
“We all felt guilty, but the most important thing is the way you react and today was a very good signal for the manager, the club and the fans too”.
“All the players are internationals, they come back after a difficult summer, playing in the Euros, difficult holidays, pre-season and it’s difficult to get fit”.
It’s a huge blow for a Spurs team that is now in third place in the Premier League and not looking overly effective so far this season – the lone exception being a 4-0 win over Stoke City.
However, in the longer run the North London club would miss the services of the England global, who was also 2015/16 Premier League’s top-scorer with 22 goals, as Spurs have crucial Champions League group games and league matches against Manchester City and Leicester City lined up in the coming weeks.
Six Sunderland players were booked in what was a scrappy affair, and Adnan Januzaj saw red late on.
“I’m happy for him”, Pochettino said.
Spurs now have 11 points, four points behind leaders Manchester City, while Sunderland remain winless and are just above bottom-of-the-table Stoke with one point.
“To be truthful, it was tough”.
“We came here trying to get something but we were on the back foot from the start”.
Lloris added: “We can congratulate their keeper (Jordan Pickford), he was awesome”.
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“But I thought we did well, dug in as a team and kept the scoreline down to one”.
