Harry Kane to be picked by Southgate’s England for Nations League finals
Gareth Southgate will select Harry Kane in his squad for next month’s Nations League after receiving assurances that the England captain will be fit to play in Portugal.
The national manager will name his squad for the two-game tournament on Thursday and has spoken with Kane and Tottenham’s medical staff. Those discussions have convinced Southgate that the 25-year-old, who has been in rehabilitation after suffering ankle ligament damage last month, will be available.
The forward has missed Spurs’ past nine games but hopes to prove his fitness in time to play some part in the European Cup final against Liverpool on 1 June. That fixture comes five days before England take on the Netherlands in their Nations League semi-final in Guimarães.
Kane, overseen by Tottenham’s medical department, has been running again in training and is expected to resume basic ball work over the next few days before starting sprinting next week. He has made clear his eagerness to be included in Southgate’s squad.
His absence would certainly have represented a blow for Southgate given how key Kane has become leading the line. The forward won the Golden Boot at last summer’s World Cup and has 22 goals from 37 caps. He has scored on each of his past three appearances. Marcus Rashford, who can also operate wide, and Callum Wilson are considered his understudies, with Southgate having ruled out turning back to Leicester’s Jamie Vardy.
Southgate will name a larger preliminary squad as he continues to monitor Harry Winks’s recovery from groin surgery, but Uefa has decreed that the party must be trimmed to 23 by 27 May, two days before the Europa League final, and five before the showpiece in Madrid. Up to nine of England’s regular selections could be involved in the Champions League final, with that contingent likely to have three training sessions at most at St George’s Park before the squad depart for Portugal.
The England manager intends to stagger the arrival of the rest of the players, with the first group, whose seasons ended with the culmination of the Premier League, to link up at the national training centre in the week commencing 20 May. The contingent from Manchester City will be granted time after the FA Cup final, with any involved in the Europa League final – Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek is likely to be picked – available on the first weekend in June. Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho will also join up late with the Bundesliga season finishing this coming Saturday.