Harry Kane has not given up hope of being fit for the League Cup Final or Tottenham’s visit to Chelsea in late February.

Spurs confirmed on Tuesday that Kane had suffered ankle ligament damage for the fourth time in three years during Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Manchester United and said he is expected to return to training in early March.

While that is the standard recovery time for Kane’s injury, the England striker has a history of returning sooner than expected and he is confident it will not take as long as the club’s forecast.

The striker’s confidence has left him eyeing a return to action in a potential EFL Cup Final on February 24 — should Spurs maintain their lead over Chelsea after this month’s semi-final, second leg — or the trip to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League three days later.

At the very least, he believes he can be ready to play in the north London derby against Arsenal on the first weekend of March — which is followed by the second leg of Tottenham’s Champions League knockout clash with Borussia Dortmund in Germany.

Spurs feared Kane would miss eight weeks when he first suffered ankle ligament damage in September 2016, but he returned to training after a month.

Harry Kane scoring against all 29 Premier League teams he has faced 30 show all Harry Kane scoring against all 29 Premier League teams he has faced 1/30 PA 2/30 Arsenal | Saturday 5 March 2016, White Hart Lane Getty Images 3/30 Aston Villa | Sunday 2 November 2014, Villa Park Getty Images 4/30 Bournemouth | Saturday 15 April 2017, Wembley PA 5/30 Brighton | Tuesday 17 April 2018, Amex Stadium Tottenham Hotspur FC 6/30 Burnley | Saturday 20 December 2014, White Hart Lane PA 7/30 Cardiff | Tuesday 1 January 2019, Cardiff City Stadium AFP/Getty Images 8/30 Chelsea | Thursday 1 January 2015, White Hart Lane. Getty Images 9/30 Crystal Palace | Saturday 10 January 2015, Selhurst Park Getty Images 10/30 Everton | Sunday March 5 2017, White Hart Lane. Getty Images 11/30 Fulham | Saturday 18 August 2018, Wembley Tottenham Hotspur FC 12/30 Huddersfield | Saturday 30 September 2017, John Smith’s Stadium. Getty Images 13/30 Hull | Sunday 21 May 2017, KCOM Stadium. AFP/Getty Images 14/30 Leicester | Thursday 18 May 2017, King Power Stadium. AFP/Getty Images 15/30 Liverpool | Saturday 2 April 2016, Anfield Getty Images 16/30 Middlesbrough | Saturday, 4 February 2017, White Hart Lane Getty Images 17/30 Manchester City | Saturday 26 September 2015, White Hart Lane AFP/Getty Images 18/30 Manchester United | Sunday 14 May 2017, White Hart Lane PA 19/30 Newcastle | Wednesday 9 May 2018, Wembley Getty Images 20/30 Norwich | Saturday 26 December, 2015, White Hart Lane Getty Images 21/30 QPR | Saturday 7 March 2015, Loftus Road Getty Images 22/30 Sheffield United | Thursday 2 July, 2020 2020 Pool 23/30 Southampton | Saturday 19 December 2015, St Mary’s on his 100th Spurs appearance AFP/Getty Images 24/30 Stoke | Saturday 7 April 2018, Bet365 Stadium Getty Images 25/30 Sunderland | Monday 7 April 2014, White Hart Lane - his first ever league goal Getty Images 26/30 Swansea | Sunday 14 December 2014, Liberty Stadium Getty Images 27/30 Watford | Sunday 1 January 2017, Vicarage Road Getty Images 28/30 West Brom | Saturday 12 April 2014, the Hawthorns - his first ever away goal in the league Getty Images 29/30 West Ham | Saturday 19 November 2016, White Hart Lane Getty Images 30/30 Wolves | Saturday 3 November, 2018, Molineux Getty Images

It was a similar story in March 2017, when he played again after three weeks, despite fears he would miss the remainder of the 2016-17 season. Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said at the time: “He’s a special player, he tries to push himself a lot.”

When Kane suffered ankle ligament damage in March last year, Spurs said he was expected to return to training at the start of April, but he played against Chelsea on the first of the month.

There were fears that Kane had returned to action too soon last season after a sluggish end to the campaign and Spurs are conscious that it could be damaging in the long-term to rush their talisman back to fitness.

Shortly after Spurs announced news of Kane’s injury, the England captain tweeted: “Injuries are part of the game but no-one will be working harder to get back fit. Thanks for the messages.” The 25-year-old has scored 21 goals in 36 appearances for club and country this season and before the match against United he was on a run of scoring in six straight matches.

That defeat left third-placed Spurs nine points behind leaders Liverpool and just one ahead of Chelsea in fourth.