Mourinho reveals Kane is ahead of schedule and Son could play this season | Football

José Mourinho has said Harry Kane is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a hamstring injury and has raised the prospect of Son Heung-min easing Tottenham’s selection crisis in attack by making a swifter return than expected from a fractured arm.

Spurs were forced to play without a recognised striker during their defeats by Chelsea and RB Leipzig, leaving Mourinho downcast, but the manager delivered a more positive update before the home game against Wolves. Kane, who had surgery on a torn hamstring, started on-field rehabilitation this week and Mourinho suggested that Son, who had an operation this week, could play with a cast.

Mourinho said Kane could target the last five games of the season, which will come as a boost for England before Euro 2020. “It gives me a hope of, instead of one or two matches, three, four or five,” he said. “I don’t know. Just speculating a little bit but the feelings are good. He’s doing what he can do at this stage but always with a good feeling.

“When he was injured, I told you, I’ll forget him, then I told you one or two games – Crystal Palace or Leicester. At the moment, I have better hopes than that so hopefully that feeling is right and he can help us in the last part of the season.

“Every time he has a problem, he’s the kind of guy that doesn’t accept protocols, a date, a fixture. He always tries to go ahead. He’s the kind of guy that we have a very good control and communication with. Sometimes the players break protocol and come earlier than expected. It happened with Hugo Lloris, who played a couple of weeks before we could expect. Let’s see with Harry. He’s obviously a great professional and a fighter and he wants to be back as soon as possible.”

Son is in Seoul and will have to self-isolate for a fortnight after he returns to England this weekend because of government protocols regarding the Coronavirus. However the South Korean could play with a cast before the season is over.

“That’s another hope but of course we’re far from it,” Mourinho said. “He’s coming back to England very soon. Then of course he’ll have to follow some safety protocols because he flies from Seoul. When his recovery starts, we’ll try all the possibilities to have him back for some matches. I cannot imagine when. But there’s a good possibility that before the end of the season, we have Harry and Sonny playing together.”