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Preston North End logo
FA Cup | Fourth Round
Jan 28, 2023 at 6pm UK
Deepdale
Spurs logo

Preston
0 - 3
Spurs


Cannon (61')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Heung-min (50', 69'), Danjuma (87')

Cristian Stellini reveals Harry Kane illness ahead of Preston clash

Stellini reveals Kane illness ahead of Preston clash
© Reuters
Tottenham Hotspur coach Cristian Stellini reveals that Harry Kane has been suffering from an illness ahead of Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round clash with Preston North End.

Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager Cristian Stellini has admitted that Harry Kane is a doubt for Saturday's FA Cup clash with Preston North End due to illness.

The England captain started and scored in the Lilywhites' 1-0 London derby triumph over Fulham in the Premier League on Monday, equalling Jimmy Greaves's club record of 266 goals.

Kane was initially expected to lead the line at Deepdale in search of a record-breaking 267th Tottenham goal, having found the back of the net 18 times in 29 matches this term.

However, speaking at Friday's pre-game press conference, Stellini - standing in for Antonio Conte - revealed that the 29-year-old has not been training fully this week due to an illness, although he was able to take part in Friday's session.

"Everybody is available. We only have one problem with Harry [Kane], with illness this week and he hasn't trained much. He trained today but we have to think about this," football.london quotes Stellini as saying.

"He wants to come with us and be available. We know very well that Harry wants to play every game, so we are happy that Harry is involved in the game, but the only situation we have to take care is this."

Harry Kane celebrates scoring for Tottenham Hotspur on January 23, 2023© Reuters

Should Kane be named on the bench or miss out entirely, the door could be open for loan signing Arnaut Danjuma to make his debut for the club following his temporary arrival from Villarreal.

The 25-year-old was on the verge of signing for Everton, having completed his medical, signed his contract and taken part in media duties for the Toffees ahead of an official announcement.

However, Danjuma changed his mind at the eleventh hour following Frank Lampard's sacking, and after refusing to send his signed Eveton contract to the FA, Tottenham successfully hijacked a six-month loan move for the former Bournemouth man.

Tottenham possess the option to sign Danjuma permanently at the end of his spell, and Stellini has confirmed that the Netherlands international is in contention to make his debut on Saturday.

"Arnaut Danjuma is available," Stellini added. "He has experience because he's played good Champions League last season. He is a player that can play like a striker or a winger.

Villarreal's Arnaut Danjuma celebrates scoring their first goal against Bayern Munich on April 6, 2022© Reuters

"He has a lot of positions he can cover. So we are happy and we are looking forward to working with him. We want to discover [more about him].

"It's normal at this point in the season, in January, you need time to give him all the information to play in our team. So we are happy, we want to work with him and we are looking forward to working with him."

Stellini hinted that Danjuma could be used in a central role against Preston if Kane is ruled out, although Richarlison is also competing for minutes in the first XI this weekend.

"It depends on the system we use. In the system we use normally he could be a number 10 or a striker. This is the way we want to work with him," the Tottenham coach explained.

"We said many times that we need a player to change [matches]. This season we lost Lucas and we need the players to add to our rotation and it's good to have him."

Despite Stellini's admission that "everyone is available", Lucas Moura is expected to remain out with a tendon injury, while Troy Parrott - who is on loan at Preston from Tottenham - cannot play against his parent club in the fourth round.

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Antonio Conte in charge of Tottenham Hotspur in October 2022
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