Harry Kane is a fitness worry ahead of England’s friendly with Brazil on Saturday night.
England captain Kane, Jordan Henderson, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka all missed the full training session on Wednesday and worked on their own fitness programmes. It is a blow for England boss Gareth Southgate who was keen to use the friendlies with Brazil and Belgium as warm up games ahead of the Euros as this camp will be the last get-together before the squad is named for the summer.
Bayern Munich will be anxious that no chances are taken with Kane who suffered a twisted ankle after colliding with a post and having to come off injured last weekend.
Ajax midfielder Henderson, 33, has a muscle issue while Saka and Palmer have also played big numbers of games this season. Southgate is already without the likes of Luke Shaw and Trent Alexander-Arnold which has limited his chances for a full Euros rehearsal this weekend.
If Kane is not risked against Brazil then Southgate would have to decide who to give an opportunity to out of Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney. Watkins in particular has been in fine form this season, registering 16 goals and 10 assists in 29 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa.
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Toney, on the other hand, has netted four times in 10 games for Brentford since returning from an eight-month betting ban. Southgate handed the 27-year-old his first senior cap last year.
Both will be keen to deputise in Kane's absence, particularly as Southgate conceded last week that he may not be able to include both strikers in his squad for the Euros.
Join the debate! Who would you start up front if Kane isn't fit? Let us know here.
Ollie Watkins could deputise for Kane if he isn't risked against Brazil (Michael Regan)“Maybe, maybe not. I genuinely don’t know the answer to that,” he said when he was asked about the duo's hopes. “That will depend on what kind of profile we need, what the profiles of the rest of the squad [members] are, whether we need a couple of players that are adaptable in a couple of positions that means we can pick specialists in certain other positions.”
Southgate then added: “I think we feel that Ivan is one of the contenders in that role, so [it is] important to bring him back in and be able to work with him again.
“He has shown, coming back into Brentford’s team, the impact and quality that he can have. Equally, Ollie is having an outstanding season with Aston Villa and is a player in excellent form. I have to say Unai [Emery] has done an excellent job with Villa, and he’s a player who has benefited from that.”
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