Vinnie Jones has said that Tottenham should not risk Harry Kane in the Champions League final if he is not 100% fit.
While the England captain is likely to be involved in Saturday’s proceedings in Madrid, he is facing a battle to be in the starting lineup after a second ankle injury of the season suffered in early April.
Speaking on talkSPORT‘s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast [Monday, 6:50am], Jones insisted that Kane should only start the game if he feels entirely ready.
“It’s a catch 22, because if they don’t and things go wrong early on, is he going to have made the wrong decision? The manager knows him, Harry Kane knows himself,” the former Leeds United man said.
“I think if he’s 100% fit, he’ll play. Under Joe Kinnear at Wimbledon, he more than anything, if you played and you had an injury then things didn’t go right, he would hammer you more for that.
“He’d rather you be brave enough to say ‘I’m not strong enough today’. You’ve got such a lot on your shoulders, if you go out there and you’re not 100% fit, you’re going to let people down.
“You might get away with it, but you need a 100% Harry Kane and he could be priceless.”
OPINION
It’s a massive conundrum for Spurs ahead of Saturday’s mouthwatering clash with Liverpool. There is no doubt the North London club would benefit from having him start the final, but as Jones points out, it could be a massive detriment to the team. What happens if Spurs are starting to grow into the game after 15 minutes or so, and Kane pulls up because he feels his ankle again, or feels a lack of match fitness affecting him? That will slow the whole Spurs momentum and would be the worst case scenario. Mauricio Pochettino knows that he has a striker in Lucas Moura who is bang in form after his incredible hat-trick in the semi-finals, and it would be an injustice to deny him the chance from the off in the final having played such a vital role in Spurs’ progression to this stage. Whatever the outcome, this will be one decision that could make or break the Champions League final for Pochettino’s side.