Mourinho confirms Son return from injury, avoids Kane speculation

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday (Apr 2) that forward Son Heung-min is back from injury ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Newcastle United, but he steered clear of speculation on Harry Kane’s future at the club.

South Korean forward Son, who has 13 goals and nine league assists this season, was forced to come off during last month’s derby loss at Arsenal with a thigh injury which prevented him from going on international duty.

“He was injured, trained with the team fully this morning,” Mourinho told reporters.

“He did partial exercises with the team yesterday and last week didn’t train at all. This time we have (Matt) Doherty and Ben Davies out. Sergio Reguilon is ready.”

Kane, who has a contract with Spurs until 2024, has been linked with a host of clubs.

However, Mourinho refused to be drawn into a discussion over the England striker’s recent comments on international duty when he said leaving Spurs to win trophies was a “hard question to answer”.

“I cannot play that game. I have to focus on what he is for us,” Mourinho said.

“I can only focus on what he does for us and the effort he put in for us at (Aston) Villa, the effort he put in for England, and the match at Newcastle and whether playing well or not, he will be there for the team.

“I want Harry to be with us what he has been … the same commitment, desire and leadership.”

Spurs, who were top of the league in December, find themselves in sixth place – three points off the top four and Champions League qualification.

But Mourinho avoided a question on whether Spurs will have failed this season if they do not qualify for Europe.

“I don’t want to speak about that possibility because I don’t want to be pessimistic and try to anticipate scenarios and evaluate the season before it’s finished,” he said.

Source: Reuters