Easing World Cup fears, Kane aims to return to training in April
Whatever the full prognosis, the forward will not be fit for England duty during next week’s international break, with the Three Lions set to face the Netherlands on March 23 and Italy on March 27 in friendlies
Harry Kane is determined to make a swift return to action after it was confirmed he would be out of action until April with damaged lateral ligaments in his right ankle, meaning the Tottenham striker should be fit to spearhead England’s World Cup campaign.
The England forward suffered the problem during Sunday’s 4-1 win at Bournemouth, and a scan to establish a clearer picture of the full extent of his injury had been delayed because of swelling around the joint.
Tottenham announced details of the “preliminary assessments” in a short statement on the club’s official website yesterday afternoon, which said the striker was “expected to return to first team training next month”.
Kane, who has scored some 39 goals this season for club and country, will now miss Spurs’ FA Cup quarter-final at Swansea on Saturday, as well as upcoming international duty with England.
The striker, though, posted a positive message on his official Twitter page as he targeted a swift return.
“Disappointing to be out until next month but injuries are part of the game. Will do everything I can to get back out there asap,” Kane wrote.
Kane was pictured with his foot in a brace and using crutches when out in Essex on Monday.
Both Tottenham and England will be wary of Kane’s previous history of ankle injuries, the forward having suffered ligament damage to the same joint twice last season.
Despite concerns over how long Kane may be out of consideration for – with the World Cup just three months away – his previous ankle problems were of differing severity and time-frames for recovery.
The first one kept the forward out for 10 games, from mid-September to early-November 2016.
However, Kane was able to return within a month of the second injury, back playing on April 8 and soon among the goals again before going on to lead the England attack in their June internationals.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino will hold a news conference to preview the cup tie today, when the issue of Kane’s likely recovery schedule is expected to be raised.
Tottenham are back in Premier League action following the international break with a trip to top-four rivals Chelsea on April 1.
With 24 league goals, Kane is level with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in his quest for a third straight Premier League golden boot.
The Spurs striker has scored 30-plus goals in the past four seasons, but Tottenham’s failure to win a trophy in that time has seen Kane linked with European champions Real Madrid.
Whatever the full prognosis, the forward will not be fit for England duty during next week’s international break, with the Three Lions set to face the Netherlands on March 23 and Italy on March 27 in friendlies.
England kick off their World Cup campaign on June 18 against Tunisia before facing Panama and Belgium in Group G.
Meanwhile, Gylfi Sigurdsson’s chances of playing for Iceland at the World Cup have received a boost with the playmaker’s knee injury expected to rule him out for six to eight weeks.
Sigurdsson picked up the injury in Saturday’s Premier League victory over Brighton and saw a specialist on Monday evening.
The timeframe means the 28 year old, who joined Everton from Swansea last summer in a club-record deal, is likely to miss the rest of the Toffees’ Premier League campaign.