Can Tottenham Cope Without Harry Kane?

Now a different set of statistics matter: without Kane, Spurs were winless for six games in October and November, scoring once from open play. They were toothless then, and as Kane limped down the tunnel six minutes into the 6-0 win over Millwall it was easy to wonder if Spurs’ hopes of winning the FA Cup and catching Chelsea in the Premier League were going with him.

Mauricio Pochettino did not sound optimistic, ruling him out of next weekend’s match against Southampton and saying the damage was similar to his previous ankle injury, which sidelined him for seven weeks and 10 matches. Spurs won the first four, including a watershed performance against Manchester City, but then came the winless run, suggesting they cannot cope for a sustained period without last season’s Premier League top scorer.

In autumn, Son Heung-Min and Vincent Janssen did their best Kane impressions with mixed success and it will be down the pair to cover for him again. They responded in the best possible way against Millwall, Son scoring a brilliant hat trick and Janssen getting his first goal for the club from open play on his 30th appearance.

Pochettino has said that Kane’s first injury layoff came too soon for Janssen and the manager and Eric Dier both predicted that the Dutchman’s goal could be a turning point after he was criticised by Pochettino last month.

Janssen certainly thinks so, declining to speak to the media after the game but passing on the message, via a member of Tottenham’s press team, that there would be more opportunities to talk about more goals in the weeks ahead. He scored 21 times in 17 league matches for AZ Alkmaar after last season’s winter break to finish as the Eredivisie top scorer but is a slow starter.

Son, though, will likely shoulder most of the burden, although he is scheduled to feature in Seoul for South Korea on Mar. 28, which makes him a doubt to play at Burnley on April 1.

It has been hard to explain the 24-year-old’s form season and his first goal on Sunday summed him up. A sloppy first touch, greeted by groans, was followed up with a spectacular curling finish. He has now scored 14 goals this season, including seven in 14 starts in the league, but in the biggest matches he has tended to be quiet, with the exception of the games against Man City.

The club has another weapon that it did not have last time Kane was injured — one that does perform in big games. Since being sent-off against KAA Gent, Dele Alli has scored in three consecutive matches — a brilliant response that has been largely unheralded — and he now has 16 goals for the season. Most of these have come since Pochettino switched to a 3-4-3 formation, which has freed Alli from defensive duties and left him as a second striker.

The biggest compliment perhaps came from Frank Lampard, who said last week that it would be unfair if Alli broke his record for Premier League goals from midfield, because he has become a forward now.

During Kane’s last absence, Alli scored twice but he also missed chances, prompting Pochettino to say he “needs to do better”. He has, and his hunger for goals is obvious. He was so angry with Son’s bad first touch and failure to square the ball, he needed a moment before running over to celebrate Tottenham’s second goal on Sunday. It was a display of the kind of single-mindedness that has earned Cristiano Ronaldo praise and criticism, and Spurs will need that while Kane is out.

Kane will be assessed over the coming days but whatever the diagnosis it is bad news for Tottenham. The club has options in Son, Janssen and Alli and it is a crumb of comfort that the international break follows the Southampton game, before four more matches against teams in the bottom half of the table.

Spurs, though, will need Kane back for the run starting on April 30 against Arsenal, West Ham and Manchester United, plus the FA Cup semifinal. Without him, they may end another season with nothing to show but statistics.