The Englishman sat out the midweek EFL Cup defeat to West Ham as the Spurs manager rotated his squad ahead of this weekend’s huge clash with United, but he will now not play a part.
Kane limped off towards the end of Spurs’ 4-1 thumping of Liverpool last weekend after scoring twice following a twinge to his hamstring, and Pochettino has now said he doesn’t want to risk the 24-year-old with the return game against Real Madrid on the horizon.
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Speaking in his press conference on Friday ahead of the clash between the Premier League's second and third-placed teams, Pochettino said: “We cannot take a risk for tomorrow, we'll see after for Wednesday. But tomorrow, it is impossible.
“It is a blow? Yes. You always want all the players available. It’s a problem. We want them available to play.
“We always believe in the collective, the squad. During the season, problems happen and you must trust all the players, all the squad. I’ve told you the players are not machines and it’s so difficult to cope with international duty, playing every three days. It’s lucky it’s not a big problem but he’s not going to play tomorrow.”
When asked if Kane has tried to push to play through the injury, Pochettino said: “No, no. It’s a decision from the doctor and medical staff not to take a risk. It’s no sense to take a risk when the problem is small and we can fix it in a few days, probably.”
Spurs and United are currently level on points, five behind league leaders City with Kane looking to extend his phenomenal run of 13 goals in his last nine games in all competitions.
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