Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho does not expect forward Son Heung Min to play again this season, after the South Korean fractured his right arm on the weekend.
Son's injury leaves Spurs short on attacking options for their Champions League last-16 first-leg match against RB Leipzig on Thursday (NZ time).
Son, who has 14 goals and eight assists in the English Premier League and Champions League this season, is set to undergo surgery, with no time frame given for his return.
Mourinho said that a Spurs statement claiming Son would be out for a "number of weeks" was fairly optimistic.
"I'm not going to count on him again this season," Mourinho said on Wednesday.
"If he plays 2-3 games, then it's because he [Spurs' press officer] is very optimistic, but I'm not counting on him."
Spurs striker Harry Kane is sidelined until April with a hamstring injury and Mourinho compared the loss of Son to climbing up stairs that break without warning.
"We are holding by our arms on the balcony," the Portuguese manager said. "Now we have two options, to fall and die... the other is to climb.
"We will be on that balcony fighting with everything we have.
"No strikers, no [transfer] market, no players, nothing. The only help now is our crowd, the Tottenham supporters.
"The situation couldn't be worse. In some periods, I was worried about not having attacking options on the bench, now it's not having attacking options on the pitch."
Mourinho said 18-year-old striker Troy Parrott was not ready to fill in for the void and winger Ryan Sessegnon could not play as a striker.
Reuters
