MX23RW : Tuesday, January 28 08:34:11| >> :60:1604:1604:
[monks data]
Attendance: 63,272
Spurs logo
Champions League | Final
Jun 1, 2019 at 8pm UK
 
Liverpool logo

0-2

FT(HT: 0-1)
Salah (2' pen.), Origi (87')

Gareth Southgate: 'Harry Kane may not play in Champions League final'

Gareth Southgate will give his captain as long as he can.

England manager Gareth Southgate insists Harry Kane could miss the Champions League final but still lead the Three Lions as they look to win the inaugural Nations League title this summer.

The 25-year-old has not played since injuring ankle ligaments in the first leg of Tottenham's Champions League quarter-final win over Manchester City.

Kane, who won the Golden Boot at last year's World Cup, has missed the end to the Premier League season with Spurs but is hoping to be fit for their European final date with Liverpool.

Southgate named his squad on Thursday
Southgate named his squad on Thursday (David Davies/PA)

That game takes place in Madrid on June 1, just five days before England face Holland in their Nations League semi-final clash.

Kane was included in Southgate's initial 27-man squad for the tournament which was named on Thursday, with the final 23-man group to be confirmed on May 27.

He is one of nine players from Tottenham and Liverpool who could potentially be involved in the final but Southgate will give him every chance to play for England, even if his fitness comes up short for Spurs.

"Frankly, we will know a lot more about that if he is in Tottenham's team," he said of Kane's current level.

Kane has been on a watching brief since March
Kane has been on a watching brief since March (Adam Davy/PA)

Asked if Kane needs to play in the Champions League final to be considered for international duty, Southgate replied: "Not necessarily because they might take a view that (Lucas) Moura scored a hat-trick (in the semi-final) and Son (Heung-min) played well so they keep Harry as an impact player.

"So without talking to Mauricio (Pochettino), I don't know what his thinking on that will be. I guess that depends on how Harry trains in the build-up to the game.

"So no, I don't think it is an absolute he has to play there or he is not ready four days later.

"Equally he could play in the final and not be right four days later for us, we are just going to have to play it by ear because he is not going to have had a game prior to that point.

Southgate is willing to wait for his key striker
Southgate is willing to wait for his key striker (David Davies/PA)

"Where there are one or two others (players) we need to know a lot more about in the next week, he is one I will make an exception for in that I will see how it goes in the final week."

Kane's 22 England goals equates to three more than the rest of the forwards named in the Nations League squad combined.

But Southgate pointed to the fact his side faced Germany, Brazil, Holland and Italy without Kane last season and did not lose as proof that England can get results if their talisman is missing.

Kane poses England's strongest goal threat
Kane poses England's strongest goal threat (Adam Davy/PA)

"I think in his mind the Champions League final has always been the target – but it is based more that he has got 20-odd goals in 37 games for us," Southgate replied when asked why Kane would be given as long as possible.

"Although we have had to play a few matches without him across the two years, I think he has started 14 of our last 21 or 22 so there are lots of times we have had to get results without him as well."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Mark Mann-Bryans, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '9111d91c-52af-4bdb-a602-34a716428fa5');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'England willing to wait on injured Kane ahead of key dates'});

ID:359498: cacheID:359498:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10789:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
England boss Gareth Southgate pictured on March 22, 2019
Read Next:
Gareth Southgate to assess players after Champions League final
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
QLiverpool770021
QBarcelona760118
3Inter Milan751116
4Arsenal751116
5Atletico750215
6AC Milan750215
7Atalanta742114
8B. Leverkusen741213
9Monaco741213
10Brest741213
11Aston Villa741213
12Lille741213
13Feyenoord741213
14Dortmund740312
15Real Madrid740312
16Bayern740312
17Juventus733112
18Celtic733112
19PSV732211
20Brugge732211
21Benfica731310
22PSG731310
23Sporting Lisbon731310
24Stuttgart731310
25Man City72238
26Dinamo Zagreb72238
27Shakhtar72147
28Bologna71245
29Sparta Prague71154
30Sturm Graz71063
31RB Leipzig71063
32Girona71063
33Red Star71063
34Salzburg71063
35Slovan Bratislava70070
36Young Boys70070


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!