TOTTENHAM are facing a mega task to qualify for next season’s Champions League with both Harry Kane and Son Heung-min out injured.
The duo are ranked as the Premier League’s all-time deadliest partnership – ahead of the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
With both men potentially absent for the rest of the campaign, Jose Mourinho has spoken of the need to “fight with what we have”.
Fans may be surprised to learn that the statistics place Son and Kane above all other attacking partnerships when it comes to goals scored per 90 minutes with both men on the pitch.
Of the duos who have played more than 5,000 minutes together since the Prem came into force, no one can match the Spurs stars.
Kane’s 67 goals have been added to by Son’s 35 at a rate of 1.29 goals per 90 minutes.
Coming in a close second are Salah and Mane, who have 89 goals between them and score 1.26 goals every 90 minutes.
Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling average 1.22 to edge Thierry Henry and Robert Pires’ record at Arsenal, scoring at a rate of 1.21 goals per 90 minutes.
However the Gunners heroes far outweigh their rivals in the sheer number of strikes registered, totalling 162 on the pitch together with Henry contributing 108.
With Tuesday’s news that Korean forward Son is out for a number of weeks, which Mourinho accepted could be the entire season, the coach poured cold water on their top-four dreams.
He said: “Now we are with our arms on the balcony on the fourth floor and we have two options.
“One is to give up and fall and normally die because it’s the fourth floor.
“Another way is to fight with what we have – no stairs, but arms.”
And the statistics lay bare just how dependent Spurs are on Son and Kane.
Since the start of the 2016/17 season, Kane has notched 117 goals in all competitions to add to his partner in crime’s 75.
Over the years, that averages out as 48 per cent of Tottenham’s goals – a figure at its peak in 2017/18 when they combined to score over half the entire team’s efforts.
Not only are Spurs worried for Kane’s return this year from a hamstring injury, England also fear he will miss Euro 2020.
Whereas Son’s broken arm, which he picked up in Sunday’s win at Aston Villa before playing on and scoring a brace, will require surgery.
Mourinho summarised: “The situation couldn’t be worse. That is obvious. There is nothing we can do. We are going to play with the players we have available.
“I was worried about not having attacking options on the bench, now I don’t have attacking options on the pitch.”
