Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane has admitted that he rushed back from injury in order to play in the North London derby against Arsenal.
Kane was off colour against the Gunners as Spurs fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat, looking short of match fitness as he struggled to make an impact.
Spurs succumbed to two first-half goals from Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez as they lost to Arsenal for the first time in six matches.
Kane has now revealed he rushed his recovery in order to play against Arsenal, going some way to explaining why he misfired that day.
As quoted by the Express, Kane said: “I was fully fit for Arsenal but it was a rush to get back, shall we say. I wanted to get back as soon as I could. I didn’t want to miss the derby.”
Kane went on to talk about his goalscoring return against Dortmund in the Champions League, his first goal in three games.
“I felt good and wanted to play in Dortmund also, and the gaffer gave the opportunity. I like to get into a rhythm of playing and getting minutes. Obviously I missed a few games in that time with injury. I went two or three games without scoring but the fact people are mentioning shows the high standards I have set myself.
“That’s fine with me. I want to score in every game. I was disappointed not to score with a couple of chances at Arsenal so to get a half-chance in Dortmund and stick it away was pleasing,” he added.
OPINION
Despite the fact that he claims he was fully fit, Kane’s admission that he rushed back from injury will be worrying to Spurs fans. The last thing they want is for their star man to push himself too far and be ruled out for an even longer spell. While Kane is no doubt key to their hope this season, Pochettino needs to start placing more faith in his replacements. Son Heung-Min can fill in as striker very capably, and while he has not hit the heights of last season, Fernando Llorente is still a quality player. The unfit Kane made minimal impact against Arsenal, and you can’t help wonder what would have happened had Pochettino put his foot down and prioritised his recovery. While Kane did not aggravate the injury this time, Spurs fans will be hoping he doesn’t do the same again in future.