England captain Harry Kane has been included in Gareth Southgate’s squad for June’s Nations League finals despite an ankle injury, the Football Association said on Thursday.
Kane, who has not played since sustaining the injury in Tottenham’s Champions League win over Manchester City on April 9, faces a race against time to be fit for the final of that competition against Liverpool on June 1.
England play their Nations League semi-final against the Netherlands on June 6, and Southgate is hopeful the striker will complete a full recovery over the next three weeks.
Kane is one of nine Champions League finalists named in the 27-man squad and Southgate is wary of fatigue concerns heading into the final stretch of the Nations League campaign.
“Post the Champions League final, we are going to have to assess everyone really,” Southgate told a news conference.
“It is a strange situation for us but we have always adapted and we have always managed to achieve results with new players, with young players, so this looks like being the same.
“It is going to be a lot of uncertainty about who is going to be available until the last minute, but we have got a really strong squad with a lot of talent and we are looking forward to these matches.”
Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek missed out on a place in the squad after his injury in a friendly in the United States on Wednesday, but fellow midfielders Declan Rice and James Ward-Prowse are involved again.
Southampton winger Nathan Redmond, overlooked since winning his solitary England cap in March 2017, returns to the squad after a strong finish to the domestic season which earned him the Player of the Year award at his club.
“It is a really good opportunity for Nathan,” Southgate added.
“I think the new manager (Ralph Hasenhuettl) has had a positive effect: a lot of pace, playing the high press and he has started to score more regularly.”
Following the Netherlands clash in Guimaraes, England will face either hosts Portugal or Switzerland in a final or third-place playoff on June 9.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Tom Heaton, Jordan Pickford
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell, Joe Gomez, Michael Keane, Harry Maguire, Danny Rose, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker
Midfielders: Ross Barkley, Dele Alli, Fabian Delph, Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse, Harry Winks
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Nathan Redmond, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling, Callum Wilson.
REUTERS