Mauricio Pochettino hints at Harry Kane return ahead of Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal

Mauricio Pochettino has suggested Harry Kane could make his long-awaited return to action in a crucial week which will see Tottenham Hotspur host Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday (2 November) before Sunday's North London derby at Arsenal. The Argentinian boss also praised how well Vincent Janssen is covering for the England international after the Dutchman scored his first Premier League goal during the 1-1 home draw against Leicester City on Saturday (29 October).

Kane is yet to play a game for Spurs since suffering an ankle ligament damage during the victory over Sunderland in September. Spurs managed to beat Manchester City in his absence but have struggled to continue that run in recent weeks, having failed to register a win in the following five games.

Pochettino hopes the return of the England forward could help Tottenham to address the situation as, speaking after the 1-1 draw against Leicester, the boss claimed Kane could be available for the coming key games against Leverkusen and Arsenal.

When asked about Kane's chances of featuring against the Bundesliga side, Pochettino responded: "Wednesday 50%, and Sunday we will see."

But whether or not Kane finally returns to action in these games, Pochettino also insisted that the rest of Tottenham players need to improve up front. Yet he praised the work of Janssen after the summer signing gave Spurs the lead against Leicester from the penalty spot before Ahmed Musa equalised for the Foxes.

"Of course it's important for Harry to come back. Harry is our main striker. We are very happy with Vincent but we brought him to share that position with Harry," Pochettino said after the Dutchman also netted from the penalty spot in the EFL Cup defeat to Liverpool. "It's not only our strikers. Our second line needs to score more and be more aggressive, to be more determined to score and not only to play well. We need to be more determined to score – be more direct, shoot, believe."

"The reality is we need to be more clinical and score more. There are no worries about that but I think we are happy with the performance. They had one shot and scored one goal. You need to win games and in the last few games we've had problems scoring goals."