Pochettino wanted to take Kane off

Recovering from an injury lay-off takes time and Mauricio Pochettino is having to monitor the game time he gives Harry Kane.

Fatigue causes injuries, he suffered the injury that kept him out because of fatigue taking the edge off his game. In those circumstances it is easier to pull a muscle, be late in a challenge or clumsy. He lasted 70 minutes before the international break and played for longer than was ideal against West Ham, but we needed goals and he duly popped up with two to snatch the victory.

“It (Kane’s time on the field) wasn’t ideal, that is true, but it was difficult to to take the decision to take him off in a moment when you need to score and try to win the game. 

“Maybe we pushed him a little bit, but I think he finished well, now he is happy with a lot of energy. That can help him to recover better and after we will try to assess him, to see if he is ready to compete on Tuesday (against Monaco in the Champions League), if he will start on the pitch or on the bench. We will see.”

The desision not to take him off but leave him on the field paid dividends, now it is all about his recovery. The body normally takes 48 hours to fully recover, it may take him longer if he has tapped into reserves.

---