talkSPORT pundit Olly Hunter has said that it “beggars belief” that Tottenham striker Harry Kane played against the Netherlands on Thursday.
Kane was selected up front by Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate for only his second match since coming back from an injury that kept him out from early April until the Champions League final at the start of the month.
Speaking on the radio station’s Extra Time programme [talkSPORT, Monday, 5:10am], Hunter said the striker needed more time off.
“Two-and-a-half months [off], that’s what he needed,” Hunter said. “He didn’t need to go to Portugal, he didn’t need that added expectation, and he could’ve picked up another injury because he’s not fully fit.
“That is the scariest part of this whole thing. So Southgate and Kane and the England medical staff are saying that this guy’s okay to play again, when I was at Guimaraes on Thursday and he wasn’t fit.
“Why are we playing against the Netherlands with 10 men? It beggars belief what Southgate has done here.”
OPINION
Hunter definitely has a point here. Kane’s first game back from injury was the Champions League final against Liverpool in Madrid and he did not look fit to play at all. He was sluggish and looked sloppy. Skip forward five days and the striker is back in action for his country. The same happened there again: Kane, although only coming on at half time, looked completely off it and added little to the Three Lions’ game after coming on. For the Madrid showpiece, it looked like Kane had the final say on whether he should be played, instead of the manager making that decision. It looks like a classic case of player power proving the deciding factor in whether the attacker plays, and you can see why both Tottenham would have had no qualms with him taking to the field. After all, he is the talisman for Spurs. Having said that, if other players will have a better impact, they should be given the full 90 minutes to prove themselves.