England's lack of options to replace Kane for WC
England manager Gareth Southgate will be frustrated if Harry Kane is unable to play in friendlies against Holland and Italy later this month after an ankle injury.
The Tottenham striker went down with a twisted ankle at the victory against Bournemouth on Sunday. Southgate will be understandly concerned about Kane's recovery and will be looking for potential replacements for the player. It will be a major setback for the England manager as the 'Spurs' star would have played a key part in the upcoming friendlies.
Kane's injury reveals the issues that England face for reserve players. If Kane is unable to play, which other player could step up and occupy his position as effectively? The fact is, England must be better prepared for the eventuality that a key player will be unavailable or unable to play.
The 'Spurs' striker was unable to play for the November friendlies against Germany and Brazil. In the interim Southgate used Jamie Vardy in rotation with Tammy Abraham and Marcus Rashford to occupy the 3-5-2 system. Vardy has impressed at Leicester recently with five goals in his last seven games. Rashford has also proved his worth in the forward position scoring twice for United against Liverpool on Saturday.
The difficulty for Southgate will be to determine if he values younger players such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek over the experience at international level of the more senior players. If it's experience that he favours, then he may be able to tempt Wayne Rooney out of retirement for an England comeback.