Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino optimistic Harry Kane will face Swansea
Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino remains hopeful Harry Kane will be fit enough to face struggling Swansea on Sunday.
Kane sat out the Europa League victory over Fiorentina on Thursday night after breaking his nose against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup last weekend.
The striker underwent an operation on Wednesday and then took part in light training on both Thursday and Friday in a bid to prove his fitness for this weekend's match at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham will be cautious while Kane remains in discomfort but the forward could wear a face mask if it means he can play and help his team's Barclays Premier League title charge.
Pochettino said on Wednesday he expected Kane to return to action against Swansea but, speaking after the win against Fiorentina, the Spurs head coach was more circumspect.
"We need to assess him day by day," Pochettino said.
"On Thursday he was on the training ground, he ran, he made some exercises and we are happy with the way he is.
"We will see. We hope he will be available for Sunday."
Tottenham proved themselves capable of coping without Kane as they scored three goals against La Viola to make the Europa League last 16, but Pochettino will want his top scorer back ahead of a testing run of fixtures.
Swansea are the first of three opponents in six days for Spurs, with West Ham and Arsenal to follow, while Manchester United, Liverpool and two legs against Borussia Dortmund are also to come in the next six weeks.
Sitting two points behind Leicester, victory this weekend could see Tottenham go top of the table but Pochettino is determined to keep his players' feet on the ground.
"Our mentality is always the next game," Pochettino said.
"The players are very excited to play again after two weeks away from the Premier League. We are in a position in the table where the motivation is big."
Mousa Dembele will miss the match at White Hart Lane with a groin strain while Tom Carroll is out with an Achilles problem.
Swansea have a clean bill of health as they return to action after a 15-day break and Gylfi Sigurdsson is ready to take his fine form to old club Spurs.
That is the view of Swansea first-team coach Alan Curtis, who feels the Icelandic international is flourishing in the number 10 role he never nailed down at White Hart Lane.
Sigurdsson made 85 appearances in his two years at Spurs between 2012 and 2014, but nearly half of those were from the bench and most of them came out wide rather than in his favoured central role behind the main striker.
It is from that position which Sigurdsson has flourished in his second spell at Swansea over the last 18 months, particularly in the last seven games where he has scored five goals in the Welsh club's battle for Premier League survival.
"Players will always deny it, but there's always an element of wanting to go back to your old club and beat them," Curtis said ahead of Swansea's visit to Spurs on Sunday.
"We have Wayne Routledge and Kyle Naughton as well. Going back to an old club is special.
"I think when Gylfi was at Spurs, they tended to play him wide on the right quite a lot.
"That's down to the manager's decision, and of course it depends on what competition you have in the squad.
"They had a lot of good players there at the time.
"But Gylfi is better in that number 10 role, as a central attacking midfielder."
Swansea have only lost once in four games under new head coach Francesco Guidolin - the 1-0 home defeat to Southampton in their last outing two weeks ago.
But they remain just three points above the drop zone and a worrying lack of goals threatens their top-flight status after five seasons among the elite of English football.
Swansea have scored 24 goals in their 26 games and only bottom club Aston Villa have managed fewer.
Guidolin spent B#8million in January to sign his fellow Italian Alberto Paloschi from Chievo, but the former Milan striker has yet to score in his three Swansea appearances.
"We brought Alberto in to score but the responsibility lies with the team," said Curtis.
"We need to spread it out as we've lacked something since Wilfried (Bony) left the club.
"Alberto wasn't brought in to be the main man but to make a contribution and we need to spread it out, like set-pieces.
"He's a new striker we've paid money for, but scoring goals is a collective responsibility."
Source: PAR
