LONDON (AFP) - Tottenham Hotspur are "happy" with Harry Kane's recovery process following an ankle injury but manager Mauricio Pochettino does not know if he will be back in action ahead of schedule.

The England captain was ruled out until early March after sustaining ligament damage in the 1-0 defeat by Manchester United on Jan 13, the third season in a row he has suffered such a problem.

But Kane, who has previously returned from injuries quicker than forecast, raised hopes he could be back in action soon after posting a video of himself on social media doing significant exercises on the joint.

Whether that means he will return before March remains to be seen and Pochettino was not putting a timescale on when the Spurs star would play again.

"I cannot tell you if he is ahead of schedule or not," said Pochettino, whose side host Newcastle on Saturday (Feb 2).

"We assess him day-by-day. He is showing on his social media that he looks strong and very fit and very well, running and doing exercises.

"You know him very well, he is very strong and is a guy that puts 200 percent in to be back as soon as possible."

'GOING TO DREAM'

Spurs, who will assess Son Heung-min after his midweek exertions on his first game back from international duty, will climb into second place and four points behind leaders Liverpool, albeit possibly temporarily, if they win the lunchtime kick-off.

Pochettino, whose side failed to add to their squad for the second transfer window running, is daring to dream of overhauling Liverpool and Manchester City, though he applied his usual cautionary note.

He said: "We cannot put the excuse that we are not a real contender but we are going to try, we are going to dream because we are close, we are there in a very good position and we are going to try and fight until the end to be as high as we can."

The Spurs boss has performed a surprising reversal and intends to use outcast Dutch striker Vincent Janssen, who has not played for the north London club since August 2017.

Having not been listed in the club's Premier League squad in the first half of the season, and being forced to train with the Under-23s, he was expected to leave in the January transfer window.

However, despite links to several European clubs, Janssen stayed put and now Pochettino will include him in his first-team squad.

"My decision is from today he's going to be involved with the first team, to try to do his best, to get fit and be competitive, and he's going to be one more in the squad and the team," he said.