Harry Kane is probably going to miss England’s friendly matches against Brazil and Belgium due to injury.
The England captain scored again for Bayern Munich last Saturday against Darmstadt but had to leave the game late after crashing into the post and hurting his ankle.
The former Tottenham player trained separately from his England teammates this week and is expected to sit out the game against Brazil on Saturday night.
Gareth Southgate has now said he is also likely to miss the match against Belgium on Tuesday.
Chelsea player Cole Palmer and Ajax’s Jordan Henderson also trained alone and will also miss the game against the five-time World Cup winners.
‘Tomorrow there will be no Harry Kane, no Jordan Henderson, no Cole Palmer,’ Southgate said at a press conference on Friday.
‘I would say Cole and Hendo have a better chance of Belgium than Harry. He would be extremely doubtful for that.’
Southgate added: ‘It means it’s a great opportunity for other players. We need to see other players before the Euros. If we were playing weaker teams, you’d still have the question in your mind if they performed well, ‘OK, how will they be against the next level of opposition?’
‘So from our perspective it’s a great exercise and opportunity.’
Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins will be vying for a starting spot tomorrow night in Kane’s absence. While Southgate suggested both could make his Euro 2024 squad along with Kane, he admitted he and his staff could have a big decision to make on who makes the cut.
‘That is a decision we’ll have to make,’ he said. ‘Clearly a No9 is a specialist position and they have different attributes.
‘That will depend a little on injury statuses in other positions in the squad and also having players that can play in more than one role.
‘Both are aware the opportunity is a big one but they’re both in good form, both have had time with us.
‘Ollie has done well in the games he’s played and had a fabulous season for his club. Ivan, since he’s come back into the Brentford team has had the impact we expected him to. They’re two very good players.’
