I am fit for the final, says Kane
Striker says he’s fit and ready for final
HARRY KANE has given Tottenham a huge boost by declaring himself fit for Saturday’s Champions League final — and has started applying gentle pressure on Mauricio Pochettino to trust him against Liverpool. The Spurs striker has not featured since injuring his ankle in the quarter-final, first leg against Manchester City on April 9. But after seven weeks of intense rehabilitation he is set to return for the biggest match in Tottenham’s history. ‘If the final was today I would be fit to play,’ he said yesterday after resuming full training with the first-team squad on Friday. ‘I feel good. I started to feel my way back with the team at the end of last week. There have been no problems so far. For me, this week now is to get the fitness as high as possible. Then it’s down to the manager. ‘Like I said, I feel good. The manager will assess it and decide whether I’m ready to go or not. But so far, I feel good and ready. I did a lot of work on my own to get me into a good
place to go back with the team. Since I’ve been with them, I’ve been in full training, doing everything. I’m at a place now where I’m ready to go for any game but again, it’s down to the manager.’
Kane, who confirmed he will be fit enough to handle the final and England’s Nations League semi-final on June 6, added: ‘Having the three-week gap after the end of the season definitely helped. From when it happened, I could put a plan in place to be ready for this game.
‘We’ve had longer than we had for the other ankle injuries. It’s worked out well. So I slowly took my time and now I’m in a good place.’
The recovery of a striker who scored 17 times in the top flight and a further five on the Champions League run will pose a dilemma of sorts for Pochettino.
It is not certain if Kane is fit to start or will be deemed most suitable to use from the bench. But his recovery could mean dropping Lucas Moura, whose hat- trick against Ajax took Spurs to the final in Madrid.
Pochettino was non-committal yesterday, saying: ‘It is very positive, the situation with him. I cannot say if he’ll be 100 per cent fit or starting, or on the bench or out. But it’s good progression like Harry Winks, Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez for the final.’
With yesterday marking five years to the day since Pochettino took over, he was in calm mood. The only tetchy point came when an Italian journalist revisited the subject of his future after it emerged he is on the managerial shortlist at Juventus.
The Argentine has contributed as much as anyone to the uncertainty surrounding his future following the final, but he was in no mood to further the discussion when pressed.
He said: ‘Nothing is more important than the game we have ahead. We can make history, we can write our history and provide our fans and people and family with the best happiness in football.
‘To think about individual things is a little bit embarrassing and a shame. I am not important. What happens in the future with me? I think we have bigger things to think about.
‘To play the final of the Champions League, to play with all the emotions that this competition generates — I am nothing to worry about.’