Kane declares himself ‘fit to play tomorrow’
Striker says he is ready to make comeback in final Pochettino ‘very positive’ after return to training
Harry Kane declared himself “ready to go” for Tottenham and England yesterday after a delighted Mauricio Pochettino welcomed him back to full training ahead of the Champions League final.
The Spurs manager dropped his biggest hint yet that Kane can start against Liverpool, saying he is “very positive” about his star striker’s progress since he rejoined the players on Friday.
Kane, who suffered ankle ligament damage in the first leg of the quarter-final against Manchester City, will fly out with the squad tomorrow and may replace Lucas Moura, whose hat-trick against Ajax secured Tottenham’s progress to the biggest match in their history. “I feel good,” said Kane, shrugging off suggestions that he is developing any long-term problems with his ankles following a series of spells on the sidelines. “I’m back with the team. Since I’ve been with them, I’ve been 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.”
At the club’s media day ahead of the final at Atletico Madrid’s 63,500-capacity Wanda Metropolitano, Pochettino said the victors on Saturday would be the team who best handled the “emotion”. Of Kane, he said: “We have one week ahead to see how he is progressing. It’s so important that he feels well and he’s very positive. I cannot say if he’ll be 100 per cent fit, or starting or on the bench.” The manager offered similarly upbeat news on injured trio Harry Winks, Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez.
Kane said he would be fit to play “tomorrow” when asked if he could feature against Liverpool and then for England, who face Holland less than a week later in the semi-final of the Nations League in Portugal. Gareth Southgate, the England manager, has called to wish him luck.
Kane said it had been “so hard watching” while Spurs staged remarkable triumphs against City and then Ajax while he was on the sidelines. “The Man City game, I was watching at home and the emotions of that game were just crazy. We were so up and down,” said the 25-year-old. “For the Ajax game I was there in the stands.”
With seconds remaining of the match – before Moura’s tie-winning third goal – he signalled to Sanchez that they should walk down to be with the players. “All of a sudden we scored and we sprinted down the tunnel to be there when the game was over. To be watching from the outside was amazing.”
There will be no rest for Kane after the Nations League. In July, he has a schedule of more strengthening work on an ankle. “That will be my goal over the off-season... to strengthen the ankle,” he said.
In the wake of Spurs’ Champions League progress, Pochettino’s future has repeatedly been drawn into question. Most recently he has been linked with Juventus, who have parted company with head coach Massimiliano Allegri.
Pochettino’s five-year contract, which he signed last summer, runs to 2023. Yesterday, however, he refused to be drawn on his plans. “Today no one is more important than the game that we have ahead, Tottenham deserve that we are all 100 per cent focused on the game. We can make history,” he said.
Before kick-off, all 23 players in the match-day squad will appear in the team photo on the pitch, repeating an idea Pochettino suggested during his time playing in the Copa del Rey for Espanyol.