Gary Neville has slammed England on Sky Sports for including Harry Kane in their squad during the international break and claimed he is “concerned” about the player’s well being.
Kane, 25, started in the 2-1 defeat against Spain at Wembley on Saturday, and came on as a second half substitute in the 1-0 win against Switzerland on Tuesday night.
Neville has questioned why the Tottenham talisman has not been given a break by club and country.
“I don’t think he should have been here for the two weeks. I think there is a welfare thing in terms of looking after players and he has not had enough of a break since 2015.”
Kane won the Golden Boot at the World Cup after scoring six goals but seemed to run out of steam for Southgate’s side in the closing stages in Russia.
OPINION
Can you imagine how the nation would have reacted had Kane been given a breather by England over the last two weeks? Had he then returned to lead the Tottenham attack against Liverpool on Saturday, it would have sent out the unequivocal message that club football is more important than the international game. Many Spurs fans would shrug, ‘Who cares?’ But Neville’s point is a good one. Kane does look knackered, and he has for much of the last six months. It is inevitable he will break down with injury if he continues to play every game for Spurs and England. The player might demand he starts all the time, but players are often not the best judge of these things. It is now up to Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and his staff to play the long game and rest Kane from some matches, or start him on the bench. He can’t keeping playing every minute of every Premier League and Champions League fixture. Something will have to give eventually.