Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte plays down injury concerns about striker Harry Kane

Speaking in his pre-match conference ahead of tonight’s Premier League clash against Burnley (h/t Evening Standard), Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has declared forward Harry Kane to be fit for the away fixture.

Tottenham are heading into the Burnley game off the back of a thrilling 3-2 win over defending champions Manchester City, in a match that saw Kane score a brace to condemn the Manchester club to a rare home defeat.

There were doubts about the Englishman’s fitness for the trip to Turf Moor, but Conte has played down these injury fears and joked that the striker has to play even if he has only one leg.

“He had a hit in his back but he has to play. If he has one leg he has to play! Harry knows very well the importance he has on the squad for his personality, for his experience.“

Spurs have no experienced backup strikers in the squad to fill in for Kane in case of an injury, as the club failed to sign an understudy to the England captain the previous summer and in the January transfer window.

“He is ready”

The 28-year-old has not had the most prolific of seasons this time around, falling well short of the usual standards that he sets for himself and is expected from him by others. But now, the Spurs talisman seems to be working his way back to full form, given his heroics against City.

Conte said he only joked about playing the striker with one leg to highlight just how crucial he is to the team and said the England international was ready to face Burnley tonight. The problem of Kane potentially missing a game is often magnified for us given we do not have a like-for-like replacement for him in the number 9 department.

“I am joking, I don’t force a player if he is injured to play. I only say [this] to tell you the importance of the player. He is good, he is ready.”

The England skipper seems to have slowly settled into life under Conte after the season began with him playing for Nuno Espirito Santo. The forward had a terrible time under Nuno even when he was firing on all cylinders for Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions, and the club suffered as a result.

The Portuguese head coach failed to get the best out of his players, eventually leading him to be sacked. Conte’s arrival has been a blessing for Kane, as the Italian manager has come in and organised the squad to make them a better-looking side in attack.

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Though Conte’s side has had to face a hat-trick of league defeats in 2022, the win against City stopped this streak. We can hope that the side now uses this as a platform to improve further so we can climb up the Premier League table and ensure a top-four spot by the end of the season.

With multiple games in hand, each fixture becomes even more crucial to win as we look to take advantage of our situation and begin our ascent up the table. Burnley stand in the way of that tonight, and all eyes will be on Kane to ensure that there are no hiccups at Turf Moor for Tottenham.