Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of obtaining something from the season have been equated to someone hanging on for dear life from a balcony in a typically colourful analogy by their manager Jose Mourinho.
The 57-year-old Portuguese made the comparison after he said he believed Korean star Son Heung-min's season could well be over due to a fractured right arm.
Mourinho is already without star striker Harry Kane -- side-lined since January with a torn hamstring -- as the club enters a crucial period. Midfielder Moussa Sissoko is another long-term casualty.
Spurs host German side RB Leipzig in a Champions League Last 16 first leg match on Wednesday and play Chelsea in a match that could prove pivotal in the dog-fight for the fourth and final Champions League spot.
"You know I like analogies," said Mourinho, who took over after Mauricio Pochettino was sacked in late November last year.
"Sometimes I do good ones and sometimes silly ones. This time I do this.
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"When we arrived we were in minus 12 floor, we got on the stairs and we started climbing.
"But immediately the stairs broke and trouble.
"We were trying to find a way.
"Lots of effort but we were going and going.
"Then 11th floor and when we arrived on the fourth floor, where we wanted to arrive, someone took the stairs away so we are now in trouble.
"We are holding by our arms on the balcony."
"The other is to climb. We will be on that balcony fighting with everything we have."
- 'We miss him' -
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"Following surgery, our medical staff shall be reviewing management options for Son's rehabilitation with the player expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks."