Pochettino may not risk Kane in Monaco

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says he may not risk Harry Kane in Tuesday's must-win Champions League game in Monaco.

Kane, who netted two late goals in Spurs' 3-2 win over West Ham on Saturday, will be assessed as he continues to make his way back from the ankle injury that sidelined him for seven weeks.

"I think it's a game we must win, and we need to find a way to do it," said Pochettino.

"We need to be clever, follow our plan and try to win. Take risks or not take risks? Football is about balance."

Monaco lead Group E with eight points from four matches, including a 2-1 win over Tottenham at Wembley in September, while Spurs have just four points from their four games and will be eliminated if they fail to win at the Stade Louis II and Bayer Leverkusen beat CSKA Moscow would see them eliminated.

The Argentine will also make a late decision on midfielders Dele Alli (knee) and Mousa Dembele (foot).

"Our selection will depend on whether players like Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Moussa Dembele can play 90 minutes or not. We don't want to take risks with them."

Nice-born Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris says Monaco, who have netted 39 goals in their 13 Ligue Un matches this season, may feel the pressure of going into the match as favourites.

"There is a feeling in France that Monaco are in such a good position they have more to lose than us," he said.

"We cannot be in a worse situation and they know it is in their hands. They will be under pressure to take the game to us and sometimes that responsibility can do funny things to a team."

Photo (©Getty Images/Michael Steele)

Setanta Sports is now eir Sport. We have 6 great channels of live sport including eir Sport 1 & 2 and all 4 BT Sport channels. The eir Sport pack is free to all eir broadband customers. To learn more about setting sport free visit www.eir.ie/sport .