Are Spurs better without Kane? - Striker set to miss the rest of the season with ankle injury

Harry Kane injured his ankle once again against Manchester City on Tuesday, with him immediately going down the tunnel to receive treatment, and as a result, he looks like he is going to be out for some time.

After the match, Tottenham confirmed that the England captain suffered a "significant lateral ligament injury" in his left ankle, after a collision with City's Fabian Delph, yet investigations will be ongoing and he will continue to be assessed over the coming week.

Tottenham went on to score just a few moments after Kane got injured, as Heung-min Son went on to score in the 78th minute, 20 minutes after Kane was substituted off with the injury. The change in formation that Mauricio Pochettino undertook after his star striker hobbled off paid dividends, with Son and Eriksen looking much freer on the pitch.

Therefore, one question is constantly being raised: Are Spurs even better without Kane in the line-up?

Harry Kane has suffered from plenty of injuries this season, mostly to his left ankle. As a result, Spurs have had to adapt to playing without the Englishman several times, and it has often worked, most notably with Son being deployed in a more central position, ahead of a more recognised striker in Fernando Llorente.

During Kane's injury period earlier on in the season, Son flourished, scoring four goals in the four matches that he played in, as Tottenham went on a 5-game winning streak (with Son missing one match due to the Asian Cup). Whilst the matches may be considered quite winnable, with the opponents being Leicester City, Fulham, Newcastle United, Watford, and then the toughest of the bunch, Borussia Dortmund, it is still a massively credible achievement for a team lacking their main focal point.

To put this into perspective, Tottenham have got a win percentage of 57.1% in the 35 matches that Kane has played in, compared to the 100% win rate that they have without him.

This might be all down to Pochettino's brilliant tactics and ability to adapt to the situation, and it might also be down to luck, with a statistic saying that Tottenham have not managed to perform as good without Kane in terms of performance, yet they have still put out decent enough performances to get the wins that they needed.

This might come down to them possibly focusing on other players rather than concentrating on giving the ball to Kane, or else it might be because of Son's ability to play down the middle, and be more effective this way. Whatever it is, it has certainly worked in the past.

Spurs will have to try and regain that sort of form without Kane, as they look to be without him for much of the remaining games of the season, and with the team currently chasing a top-four spot, along with a decisive second-leg against Manchester City coming up on Wednesday, there is all to play for.