Harry Kane: Jose Mourinho fumes at Gareth Southgate after England coach says striker may start against Denmark
Tottenham Hotspur may have been having a great season, especially with their unforgettable 6-1 win over Manchester United, however, a grueling calendar with the 2020 Nations League will have Spurs gaffer Jose Mourinho sweating over the fitness concerns of their star striker Harry Kane. The last week saw him make headlines in sports pages after missing the friendlies against Wales as reports of him picking up an injury have been doing the rounds.
He was then named to the bench and in England's clash against Belgium playing for only 25 minutes when he substituted for Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Team manager Gareth Southgate attributed it to "muscle fatigue" and that he would most likely take the field in their next game over Denmark.
"We're hoping that Harry, that progression tonight, I think he'll get more confidence from that so we'll have to assess both him and Jordan Henderson. But certainly, Harry should be able to play more minutes," Southgate said. He had a strange training week, we gave him a couple of days recovery and he started training on Wednesday. He had a bit of cramp, so he’s had muscle fatigue and missed most of the week’s training. He got a little more confident towards the end of the week but hasn’t done enough to start. So he's not injured, perhaps he can feature later in the game."
Except the news doesn't seem so comforting for Mourinho who had earlier asked Southgate to be careful with his players. And with Southgate most likely starting Kane in the playing XI. the Spurs will be sincerely hoping he comes off without aggravating an injury. According to Sportsmail, Kane was carrying a thigh problem into England's fixtures. Should Kane end up with an injury, a lot of fireworks can be expected between Mourinho and Southgate.
Kane has been prolific for the Spurs so far. He picked up where he left off the last season where he scored 18 goals in 29 appearances for the Spurs in the Premier League and now has three goals from their four games. According to ESPN's stats, Kane has five assists in the Spurs' four games so far with Son Heung-Min leading the scoring charts with six goals so far.
In their game against United, the Spurs had an 85% pass accuracy and that was evident with Kane ensuring the moves were slick and perfect for Son to send the ball sailing.
Mourinho's strategy makes Kane the point man when it comes to strikes and assists. With ample time spent on the field, the 27-year-old has become adept in breaching the opposition defense and finding players to assist. An injury blow would be the last thing Mourinho wants as the Spurs resume their Premier League journey as they take on West Ham on October 18 followed by Burnley on October 26.