Why is Harry Kane not playing for England?

1 month ago 26

GARETH SOUTHGATE confirmed Harry Kane will miss England’s friendly against Belgium on Tuesday.

The England captain left the camp early over fitness fears.

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Harry Kane was pictured in Bayern training after leaving the England camp with injury[/caption]

Why is Harry Kane not playing vs Belgium?

Kane sat out of the 1-0 defeat against Brazil on Saturday due to an ankle injury after colliding with a goalpost while playing for Bayern.

England boss Southgate revealed Kane returned to Germany to undergo treatment.

Southgate said: “Harry Kane won’t be fit for Tuesday so he will go back to his club.

“He’s not had many injuries, so he himself isn’t sure whether it’s just tightness.”

However, eyebrows have since been raised with Tottenham legend since seen training with Bayern despite his early departure.

Bayern shared photos on their social media of Kane training, with the striker looking like he took part in a light session.

Who will replace Harry Kane?

Kane’s absence left Ollie Watkins to lead the line against Belgium, but it is not yet clear if the Aston Villa man or Brentford striker Ivan Toney will start against Belgium.

Kyle Walker wore the armband in the absence of Kane and Jordan Henderson – who will miss the game against Belgium.

Southgate could also be without the Manchester City defender as he went off in the first half.

Declan Rice, who is also set to win his 50th cap, is expected to captain the Three Lions for the first time.

Elsewhere, Cole Palmer and Jordan Henderson trained on Saturday morning but missed the Brazil game through injury.

Southgate said: “We have to see how they come through that next phase.”

What’s been said?

On Watkins, Southgate said: “I thought Ollie did a good job, didn’t get that clear chance on goal that you might want as a as a forward but a lot of his work was very, very good.

“I was really pleased with the players that went in. We need to find out about them, we need to know where we might head if we didn’t have Harry for a big match.

“Clearly I don’t like losing football matches, but I thought there were lots of very good individual performances from players who’ve hardly played for England.”

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