Kane and Henderson unlikely to face Brazil

SKIPPER Harry Kane and Jordan Henderson are both doubts for England’s glamour friendly against Brazil tonight after missing training on the eve of the game.

Gareth Southgate’s men step up their preparations for this summer’s shot at European Championship glory with Wembley friendlies against the Selecao and Belgium.

Kane and Henderson’s availability to face Brazil this evening is in doubt after the pair exercised away from the main group at St George’s Park yesterday morning.

The pair again worked inside on individualised training programmes, with Kane dealing with an ankle injury suffered in Bayern Munich’s 5-2 Bundesliga win over Darmstadt last Sunday.

Southgate worked with a 23-man England squad ahead of travelling down to London following Bukayo Saka’s withdrawal from the squad.

The Arsenal forward reported to St George’s Park with an injury and returned to his club on Thursday having been unable to participate in training.

Meanwhile, the Football Association is standing by the controversial design of the new England shirt despite criticism from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

The shirt’s manufacturer Nike has altered the appearance of the St George’s Cross using purple and blue horizontal stripes in what it called a “playful update” to the shirt ahead of Euro 2024.

Sunak warned Nike “should not mess” with the flag, while Starmer urged Nike design.

The FA said it was “very proud” of the red and white St George’s Cross but gave its support to the new design.

“The new England 2024 home kit has a number of design elements which were meant as a tribute to the 1966 World Cup-winning team,” a spokesperson said.

“The coloured trim on the cuffs is inspired by the training gear worn by England’s 1966 heroes, and the same colours also feature on the design on the back of the collar. It is not the first time that different coloured St George’s Cross-inspired designs have been used on England shirts.

“We are very proud of the red and white St George’s cross – the England flag. We understand what it means to our fans, and how it unites and inspires, and it will be displayed prominently at Wembley, as it always is – when England play Brazil.”

The Prime Minister was asked about the kit design yesterday.

“Obviously I prefer the original, and my general view is that when it comes to our national flags, we shouldn’t mess with them,” Sunak said. “Because they are a source of pride, identity, who we are, and they’re perfect as they are.”

The Labour leader added: “I’m a big football fan, I go to England games, men and women’s games, and the flag is used by everybody. It is a unifier. It doesn’t need to be changed.” to “reconsider” the