LONDON -- Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says Harry Kane's injury is similar to the one he suffered in September, and he believes it will be difficult for the striker to play against Southampton next weekend.
Kane limped off after six minutes of Spurs' 6-0 win against Millwall in the FA Cup quarterfinal after his ankle turned underneath him following a tackle from Jake Cooper.
The striker headed straight down the tunnel after being replaced by Christian Eriksen and he left White Hart Lane in a protective boot and on crutches.
Kane missed seven weeks of the season after suffering ankle ligament damage against Sunderland in September, missing 10 games. Spurs won the first four, before going six games without a win, scoring just once from open play.
"Now he twisted his ankle, the same ankle that was before in the game against Sunderland," Pochettino said of the Premier League's joint-top goal scorer in a postmatch news conference.
"Now it's a matter of waiting, assessing tomorrow, and after tomorrow, and seeing what happens. It's difficult. It looks a similar situation to Sunderland, during that game, but we'll see. We need to wait and be positive.
"It's too difficult, today, to give you a real level of how his ankle is. We hope it's not a big issue, but it looks similar. If you watch it on television, it was a similar action.
"It's sure it will be difficult for him to play against Southampton on Sunday, but we need to wait now. We need to be cautious and see what happens in the next few days.
"Every time this happens, a situation like this, the doctor is cautious. Before a scan the doctor tries to immobilise the joint, with a boot and crutches, to try and avoid the problem. We don't know when the scan will be.
"Harry is our main striker, one of the best in England, but we can't cry about it now. We have to be positive. We have players enough to try and replace him. It won't be an excuse if we don't win or achieve our aims because Harry is not in the team."
Harry Kane leaving the stadium on crutches and with a protective boot on his right foot. #thfc pic.twitter.com/EHwOcXrilw
- Tom Allnutt (@tomallnuttPA) March 12, 2017
Without Kane, Son Heung-Min moved up front and scored a brilliant hat trick, while Vincent Janssen came off the bench to net his first goal from open play for the club on his 30th appearance.
Asked if it could prove to be a turning point for the Netherlands international, Pochettino said: "Yes, of course. I told you that in the last few months he has stepped up and started to work better, and I was happy in the way he was performing in training.
"In football you need to be ready. If you are ready and show your quality ... sometimes players aren't ready because they're not fit, but Vincent it was different. He had an opportunity today and scored.
"When you lose a player like Harry Kane, you know you'll miss him. But it's important for the players who play in his position, Son, or Vincent today, to find the net and score goals. When we talk in the past about the squad, look now: now we need to see how they are important.
"All the players. People criticise the manager when we rotate the team, but look at us now. In the key period for any team, we may miss our main striker.
"Players like Vincent and Son, who haven't played in the last few weeks in the starting XI, may now be important for us. But let's be positive and try and help him. Let's try and assess and see what happens in the next few days.
"Yes, it's about the team. It's about the team performance. With different names and different players. We need to try and win different games and score goals. My job is to select only 11 players in every game, but I was always happy with Sonny.
"He can play like a striker. One of our best performances was against Manchester City here, and he was the striker when Harry was injured. We have different opportunities to play, use different formations. I'm sad about the Harry injury, but now it's about trying to find a solution and seeing who is the best player to replace him."
Pochettino insisted he did not hear any alleged racist chanting from the Millwall fans at Son, saying: "It's difficult for me. It's difficult for me to understand you in the press conference."