Harry Kane ankle injury leaves Tottenham sweating as striker leaves stadium in a protective boot

Mauricio Pochettino fears striker Harry Kane may have damaged ankle ligaments in Tottenham’s 1-0 victory over Sunderland.

Kane scored the winner, his second goal of the season, at White Hart Lane but had to be carried off on a stretcher following a collision with defender Papy Djilobodji.

The 23-year-old was later seen leaving the stadium on crutches and wearing a protective boot on his right foot.

‘We will assess him tomorrow. It was tough, he twisted the ankle,’ Pochettino said.

‘Now he feels pain and we see tomorrow. It’s painful and we need to wait.

‘I’m sure there may be a problem with his ligaments but it’s difficult to assess today. We need to wait.’

Kane would most likely have been rested anyway for the League Cup match against Gillingham on Wednesday but Spurs travel to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League next week, between Premier League games against Middlesbrough and Manchester City.

A longer lay-off could also mean the forward misses England’s World Cup qualifying fixtures against Malta on October 8 and Slovenia three days later.

Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele limped off in the second half against Sunderland as well but Pochettino said both were suffering from cramp, rather than anything more serious.

‘Dier and Dembele only feel cramps in the hamstring, it’s not that big an issue,’ Pochettino said.

‘When you’re in different competitions, Champions League is a different competition, we spent a lot of energy on Wednesday, it’s different to the Europa League. It’s new for us so it’s important to learn.

‘All of them are internationals, they come after a difficult summer, after playing in the Euros. It’s difficult with holidays and pre-season and it’s difficult to get fit.’

Tottenham’s victory over the struggling Black Cats means they climb to third in the Premier League table and maintain their unbeaten start to the season.