MX23RW : Thursday, March 28 11:43:22| >> :120:3916:3916:

Harry Kane facing surgery on injured ankle?

Harry Kane facing surgery on ankle injury?
© Reuters
The Three Lions skipper has suffered a "significant lateral ligament" injury in his left ankle.

Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane may have to consider having surgery on his injured ankle, a leading surgeon has said.

Kane suffered a "significant lateral ligament" injury in his left ankle during Spurs' 1-0 Champions League win over Manchester City and, although the club have yet to put a timescale on his return, he is unlikely to play again this season.

The Three Lions skipper is susceptible to ankle ligament damage as this is his fifth such injury since 2016 and the second to his left joint this year.

Surgeon Mark Davies, a leading specialist at the London Foot and Ankle Centre who has operated on Premier League footballers, says that going under the knife could help restore the strength of Kane's ligament to what it was before his first injury.

"At some point I think they would think about doing something surgically to stabilise the ligament, which is quite feasible and should restore the problem happening in the long term," Mr Davies told Press Association Sport.

"I would certainly talk to him about the what advantages of having surgery would have.

"If he wasn't playing football and he wasn't going over on it then I wouldn't do anything about it but every time you turn your ankle you run the risk of lateral ligament damage in the ankle.

  • September - November 2016 - 10 games
  • March - April 2017 - 3 games
  • March - April 2018 - 1 game
  • January - February 2019 - 7 games

"He's not that old, he could do with a stable ankle if he wants to carry on playing long term without it happening again.

"It is a routine operation because the ligament needs to be tightened up and that is fairly easy.

"If he were to have surgery, the surgeon would almost certainly use an internal brace, which is a device which you put over the ligament repair and it is incredibly strong.

"It means you are not just relying on scar tissue regaining strength so it would improve his chances of coming back.

"Nobody is immune to spraining an ankle, you can have the strongest ligament in the world and if you subject it to enough force it would sprain, but you should restore it to pre-injury levels of stability."

Harry Kane sustained the damage in a challenge with Fabian Delph
Harry Kane sustained the damage in a challenge with Fabian Delph (Adam Davy/PA)

The surgery would put Kane out of action for around three months, which may not be much longer than he could be expected to be out anyway.

The England striker does have impressive powers of recovery, though, as he returned to action two weeks quicker than expected earlier this year and is targeting a return to fitness for a possible Champions League final and UEFA Nations League semi-final in June.

Davies, who has operated on Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea players in the past, says Kane's quick recovery rates have not made him more susceptible, neither has a full on schedule which has barely seen him get any rest over the past few summers.

"There is no merit in him having an extended rest, they are not sending him back too early, it's just that he has got an unstable ankle," Davies added.

"When you suffer that injury, the ligament doesn't get as strong, so the slacker and slacker it is going to get, the more frequently it is going to happen.

"They do get him back very quickly, but they wouldn't send him out if he wasn't ready."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Jonathan Veal, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'e6067c07-7c98-4d82-a2a0-ef1854649786');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Kane may have to consider ankle surgery \u2013 leading surgeon'});

ID:356016: cacheID:356016:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8540:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Spurs frontman Harry Kane sits injured on January 13, 2019
Read Next:
Harry Kane's injury history
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!