Gareth Southgate addresses Harry Kane fitness following England squad announcement
Gareth Southgate says Harry Kane is “pretty much clear” of injury, offering England a huge boost ahead of their Euro 2024 campaign.
The Three Lions head to Germany as one of the favourites to lift the trophy this summer having reached the final at the previous European Championships, losing to Italy on penalties at Wembley.
However, England’s chances may well hinge on the form of Kane, who has scored 12 goals in 22 combined World Cup and European Championship appearances to date.
Despite once again failing to lift a trophy, Kane has enjoyed an incredible debut season with Bayern Munich, scoring 44 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions, including 36 strikes in the Bundesliga to take the Golden Boot.
However, the striker missed Bayern’s final game of the season against Hoffenheim due to a back injury, with Thomas Tuchel saying Kane was suffering from a “complete blockage”. His teammates succumbed to a 4-2 defeat that cost them second place in the league in his absence.
Gareth Southgate provides positive Harry Kane fitness update
Thankfully, it appears Kane’s absence for Bayern was merely precautionary, with Southgate very upbeat about his captain’s fitness ahead of next month’s Euros.
“He is quite relaxed about it. I think a sensible decision was taken not to push for the last game there,” Southgate said of Kane (as quoted by BBC Sport) following the announcement of his 33-man provisional squad for Euro 2024.
“Back problems can just happen – travel, whatever else – but it is not something we are concerned about at this moment in time.
“Our understanding of it is that it is something that is pretty much clear now.”
Already England’s all-time record goalscorer, Kane is also the only player named in the provisional squad with more than 11 international goals to his name so far.
That alone is enough to demonstrate his importance to the side. Factor in that he is still awaiting his first major trophy and it would be understandable for Kane to feel the pressure in Germany this summer.
However, Southgate insists Kane is “looking forward” to getting started, hopefully putting his first piece of silverware in the cabinet.
“It won’t be nice for him and I am sure he will be aware of what people will say about that. But his love for this challenge and desire to make this work has never wavered and he is definitely looking forward to this tournament,” said Southgate.
“He will, of course, be disappointed that he hasn’t won the league but there has been a lot going on at the football club which has been obvious from the outside.
“It has been a slightly different role there I would say, as he has been encouraged to stay higher and a little bit less involved in the build-up.
“But he has delivered what we thought he would deliver in terms of goals in that league and I know the club are super happy with what he has done.”
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