Harry Kane, the captain of England, might miss the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium due to an injury he sustained. Kane acquired an ankle injury on Saturday while playing against Darmstadt for Bayern. Along with Kane, Bukayo Saka, Palmer, and Henderson were among the squad members of the Three Lions who missed full training on Wednesday ahead of the International Friendlies scheduled for Saturday and Tuesday.
Harry Kane’s Injury
Harry Kane’s injury was sustained after limping in Bayern’s 5-2 win over Darmstadt last Saturday. The 30-year-old player will miss Saturday’s match against the five-time World Cup champions. Southgate was eager to use the two friends as a warm-up before the Euro 2024 campaign. Moreover, the two friendlies were to determine the Southgate squad and final call-ups.
Harry, the former Tottenham player, sustained an injury on Saturday after colliding with a post and was forced to leave the game. It raised eyebrows for Southgate in the coming friendlies against Brazil on Saturday and Belgium on Tuesday. Moreover, Bayern was also concerned regarding the Champions League match against Arsenal next month.
Harry’s potential miss has raised debates about who will replace England’s striker once he is ruled out. Moreover, Bukayo Saka, who played 120 minutes against Porto, was not in full training on Wednesday. Additionally, Cole Palmer and Henderson also missed out. Although both players did not seem to have any injuries, the report states they are injured.
Will Watkins Step Up for Kane?
Kane’s replacements raise major concerns for Southgate; however, Watkins of Aston Villa and Ivan Torey of Brentford might fill in Kane’s gap. Watkins is in favor of Kane’s replacement match after his superb performance at Aston Villa this season. The striker has scored 16 goals for the club. Moreover, he has provided 10 assists for England and netted a goal against Australia to give England the winning goal.
Ivan Toney, on the other hand, seems like a good fit for Kane’s replacement after a nine-month ban. This marks the first appearance for the squad since the ban. Ivan makes a good fit after a beautiful performance since returning to Brentford in January. Ivan has netted four goals in 10 appearances so far. This marks a good opportunity to see how the Brentford striker will handle international football.
“Maybe, maybe not. I genuinely don’t know the answer to that,” Southgate said when he was asked about the duo’s hopes. “That will depend on what kind of profile we need, what the profiles of the rest of the squad [members] are, and whether we need a couple of players that are adaptable in a couple of positions, which means we can pick specialists in certain other positions.”
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