Son shines but Kane injury mars Spurs stroll

LONDON: Son Heung-Min’s hat-trick fired Tottenham into the FA Cup semi-finals, but his side’s 6-0 victory against Millwall was overshadowed by Harry Kane’s potentially serious ankle injury.

Kane limped off in the 10th minute at White Hart Lane after his ankle twisted awkwardly.

The England striker was sidelined with another ankle problem earlier this season and the injury is a major worry for Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.

England manager Gareth Southgate will also be concerned as he is due to name his squad for forthcoming fixtures against Germany and Lithuania.

Tottenham are looking to win the FA Cup for the first time since 1991 and close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea, but those ambitions would be much harder to achieve without their leading scorer.

Despite Kane’s absence, Tottenham were too strong for third tier Millwall and they marked the last FA Cup tie at the Lane before the stadium is demolished, with a commanding quarter-final display.

Christian Eriksen opened the scoring and Dele Alli and Vincent Janssen were also on target, but it was Son who took centre-stage with his treble.

Tottenham will discover their opponent for next month’s Wembley semi-finals on Monday, but news of Kane will be anticipated even more eagerly.

Given the notorious reputation of Millwall’s support, much of the pre-match focus had been on the possibility of crowd trouble.

There was a tense atmosphere outside the stadium before kick off, but a huge police presence managed to contain the threat of serious violence despite bottle throwing and minor scuffles.

Inside, a large segregated area was used to keep Millwall and Tottenham fans apart, with a line of stewards wearing orange hard hats in case missiles were thrown.

Dominating possession with ease, Pochettino’s side battered Millwall from start to finish as they cruised to a 16th win from 18 home games this season.

On Saturday night, Arsenal ended Lincoln City’s historic FA Cup run and eased the pressure on Arsene Wenger with a 5-0 victory over the valiant non-league side in quarter-finals.

After Tuesday’s humiliating Champions League exit against Bayern Munich, Wenger had endured calls for his resignation and the Gunners boss must have breathed a sigh of relief as Arsenal avoided even greater ignominy.

A contest that should have been a mismatch given the supposed gulf in class between fifth-tier Lincoln and their illustrious opponents was actually a tense affair until first-half stoppage time when Theo Walcott put Arsenal ahead.

The 9,000 travelling Lincoln supporters certainly brought their voices and generated more noise than the Emirates Stadium has heard during many Premier League games this season.

Almost 10 minutes had elapsed before Arsenal created an opening. Hector Bellerin slid the ball along the ground from the right-hand side but Ramsey swept his shot just wide of the post.

Four minutes later Walcott connected sweetly with a volley only for Lincoln keeper Paul Farman to plunge to his left to palm the ball on to the same upright.

Wenger’s side re-emerged with a sense of urgency that had been largely absent in the first half. The goal that effectively sealed Arsenal’s passage to a Wembley semi-final arrived after 53 minutes.

Five minutes later, Arsenal led 3-0. Gibbs drove in a low hard cross that was deflected into his own net by the unfortunate Waterfall.

Sanchez then made it four after 73 minutes, riding two challenges before curling home beautifully.

The scoreline began to look unjustifiably one-sided when Ramsey walked the ball home following a Sanchez cross.