Harry Kane’s ankle injury presents Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino with arguably the toughest tactical test of his 28-month reign at the club. Ever since Kane came off the bench to score against Aston Villa in November 2014, the forward has been almost ever-present in Tottenham’s front-line, scoring 59 goals over the last two seasons, en route to becoming the first Englishman to win the Golden Boot in over 15 years.

Tottenham’s recent 1-0 victory over Sunderland was however marred by the sight of their talisman being stretchered from the field of play, following a collision with the defender Papy Djilobodji. “He got a ligament ankle problem and we need to assess every day and see,” Pochettino said after the injury, although the consensus appears to be that he will be absent for at least two months.

Were that to be the case, Kane would likely be absent for Tottenham’s next three Champions League matches – away to CSKA Moscow before home and away matches against Bayer Leverkusen – as well as vital Premier League fixtures including matches against Manchester City and bitter rivals Arsenal. So how will Pochettino’s Spurs line-up in the absence of their star man?