This archive report was first published on 4 January 2020.
On New Year's Day, Tottenham's Harry Kane suffered a tear in his left hamstring during the Premier League match against Southampton, forcing him to leave the pitch in pain.
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho had feared the worst after Kane limped off during the 1-0 loss at St Mary's, and those fears have now come true.
"Following assessment today (Friday), we can confirm that Harry Kane suffered a tear in his left hamstring during our New Year's Day fixture against Southampton," Tottenham said in a statement.
"Our medical staff will continue to review the injury with treatment ongoing," the statement added.
Despite the setback, Kane remains optimistic, tweeting: "Head up. Tough times don't last, tough people do."
With Kane ruled out of Sunday's FA Cup third-round trip to Middlesbrough, Mourinho expects the club's leading scorer to be out for much longer than that.
"I don't know yet, maybe later today we have news but if you ask me just my feeling, good news or bad news, I am more on bad news than good news, that's my feeling," Mourinho said earlier on Friday.
"What the player felt, Harry Kane leaving a match, the way he did it, he didn't think twice, it didn't take him two seconds to realise the severity of the situation," Mourinho added.
The loss of Kane is a huge setback for Spurs, who are stuttering under Mourinho after an initial bounce following his appointment in November.
Kane has scored 27 goals in 31 appearances for club and country this season, and his absence will be deeply felt by the team.
"Everybody knows who he is, what he is, what he means for the team, the fans, the club," Mourinho said.
"His quality, the routines that the team has playing with him, every minute of every game he doesn't play we miss (him), so every match that he doesn't play we're going to miss him," Mourinho added.
