As if Tottenham Hotspur hadn’t already had the rough end of the stick when it has comes to injuries, they now seem set to lose Harry Kane for around a month.
It comes at an incredibly inconvenient time too with natural replacement, Heung-Min Son now away on international duty for the foreseeable future and possibly until their match with Leicester City on February 10.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino will be tearing his hair out as he scrambles to keep his side on track for a top four finish, despite injuries blighting his squad.
Almost all of his first-team stars have missed at least one game this campaign, while the like of Victor Wanyama and Jan Vertonghen have missed most of the season, which makes the fact they sit third in the Premier League more astounding.
Now they will have Kane sitting on the sidelines after he hurt his ankle in a collision late on in their defeat to Manchester United.
So, with the England captain set to become an absentee, how will Spurs cope without their talisman, and their South Korean hero? talkSPORT.com looks at the possibilities.
Just like Chelsea last season?
Tottenham, with Harry Kane on the bench following an injury, defeated their London rivals 3-1 with a brilliant attacking display.
Unfortunately this did include Son as the starting forward, but it really came to fruition after half-time when Erik Lamela was the central attacker.
Neither, Son, Lamela, Dele Alli, or Christian Eriksen played as a true striker and their fluidity caused Chelsea a lot of issues, so a similar formation might be deployed again.
This time, if he’s fit to return himself, Lucas Moura should come in for the South Korean ace, having played as forward several times this season.
The Spanish inquisition
Fernando Llorente had looked set to leaves Spurs in January but he now may be kept if Kane’s injury leaves him out for a month.
He’s only really had game-time in cup matches and, despite hat-tricks against Rochdale and Tranmere Rovers over the last two years, he has often looked rusty with his play almost at odds with his team-mates fast manoeuvres.
But he may just be vital over the next month, he was smart with his knockdowns and general play in the final minutes against Manchester United and could easily have had an assist.
Him starting could also allow Lucas to be eased back into action.
Return to a back-three?
With Spurs currently light in central midfield, Pochettino may wish to use his squad’s defensive numbers to make his team more effective in the absence of Kane.
This would see, most likely, Davinson Sanchez play either on the right or between Toby Alderweield and Jan Vertonghen, depending on their opponents’ forward line.
It would also allow Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose or Ben Davies to attack more which, given Trippier’s obvious defensive frailties, might be smart at this moment in time.
Llorente, in that case, would prove a shrewd target man for their crosses, allowing Tottenham’s attacking midfielders to wreak havoc behind him.
It could also help ease Eric Dier back into the first-team after his appendix surgery with Eriksen or Alli playing a deeper role with Winks.
A central midfield three
Pochettino described Spurs’ second-half against Manchester United as “the best 45 minutes I have seen Tottenham play since I took in charge.”
High praise and, due to Sissoko’s injury it saw him have to deploy and attacking central trio of midfielders with Eriksen and Alli dropping deeper and the masterful Harry Winks putting on a stellar show between them.
Similar could happen again but without Kane ahead of them, or behind Llorente to link play, it’s a risk pulling such attacking forces into deeper roles – it might just work though.
