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Son Heung Min believes he has shone in Harry Kane’s absence

Son Heung Min insists he has already proved he can shoulder the burden of replacing Harry Kane in Tottenham's Champions League showdown with Manchester City tomorrow morning (Singapore time).

Mauricio Pochettino's side head to the Etihad Stadium for the quarter-final, second leg with a slender 1-0 lead.

But Tottenham's task has been made harder by injuries to Kane and Dele Alli.

Kane is likely to miss the rest of the season after suffering yet another ankle ligament injury in the first leg against City, while England midfielder Alli is a doubt after fracturing his hand in the same match.

Losing two such influential players ahead of a do-or-die clash with the English Premier League champions would be a hammer blow to most teams.

But South Korea forward Son has shown this season that playing without Kane need not be fatal to his side's European ambitions.

ENJOY FOOTBALL

Son has scored nine goals in 10 matches with Kane absent this season and he said: "I just enjoy the football. Everyone, not just me, should enjoy the game and scoring and winning.

"We should not put pressure on ourselves about these situations. There's nothing better than the Champions League quarter-finals at the moment."

While Hugo Lloris deserved plaudits for saving Sergio Aguero's penalty, the first leg was won after Kane limped off, thanks to Son's 78th-minute strike - a typically cool finish after he kept the ball in play as the City defence dithered.

Last Saturday Son continued his merciless streak, when he came on only in the 87th minute against Huddersfield, but still managed an assist to help Lucas Moura complete his hat-trick as Spurs won 4-0.

"The Manchester City game will be a tough one, but I believe that if we play as a team and believe in ourselves, we can have a good result," he said.

The 26-year-old showed his compassionate side this week when he reportedly donated around £100,000 (S$177,000) to the victims of a deadly fire in South Korea, which killed at least two people and left hundreds homeless.

"Although I'm living abroad, I know what's happening in my home country. It's something I should do when there's a big disaster in my home country," Son said. - AFP

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