Pochettino: Harry Kane is not injured, but could rest against West Ham

There were quite a few nervous Spurs fans when Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane was subbed off in the waning moments of Spurs’ 4-1 win over Liverpool at Wembley Stadium. Kane went down and appeared to be having an issue with a cramp before being replaced by Fernando Llorente.

More worryingly, the television cameras caught Kane feeling his left hamstring as he walked to the Tottenham bench. But in his post-match press conference, Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said that there’s no reason to worry, and that Kane’s just fine.

“No, no [he’s not injured]. He was tired at the end. That is normal. A massive effort against Bournemouth, Real Madrid and today. It's normal he was a little bit tired. It will not be a problem.”

Pochettino also strongly suggested that Kane is due for a rest, and will likely get one this Wednesday as Tottenham take on West Ham United in the League Cup.

“Yes, maybe, yes [he will be rested]. We have ahead many games, Wednesday then Manchester United at the weekend and Real Madrid. We finish the weekend with Crystal Palace. It's important to know that he played two games for the national team before Bournemouth. It's been a massive effort from him, but his performance in that way he's so professional. But he's not a machine and maybe Wednesday to rest.”

Kane was once again magnificent against Liverpool, scoring a brace, including one goal where he rounded Simon Mignolet, and a rebound effort after Jan Vertonghen had a shot blocked. Kane also had one sequence where he took on virtually the entire Liverpool back line and still somehow managed to get a shot away.

Spurs rely on Kane for goals, but as Poch mentioned, he’s only human and it’ll be necessary to rest him every so often. Wednesday is a good opportunity: it’s the League Cup, and if you’re going to rest key players for a cup competition this is the one to do it. Plus, Spurs’ depth is such that they should hopefully be able to get a result against West Ham at Wembley even without Kane and a few others.

Tottenham have a killer stretch upcoming: they travel to Old Trafford to face fellow title contenders Manchester United on Saturday, and welcome Real Madrid to Wembley in the Champions League a week from this Tuesday.