On a recent episode of the Sky Sports Football podcast, pundit Jamie Redknapp compared Harry Kane’s injury woes to those of his former Liverpool teammate Michael Owen.
The England captain suffered a hamstring tear on New Year’s Day and made only his second appearance of 2020 in last week’s re-opening fixture against Manchester United. He struggled in that game but managed to grab his first goal of the calendar year in Tuesday night’s 2-0 win against West Ham.
Following the game, Redknapp was full of praise for the 26-year-old but also warned that after the long-term muscle injury, the Spurs academy graduate may never be at the same level as he once was, comparing his situation to that of Michael Owen’s.
Here’s what the Sky Sports pundit said, first about Kane’s goal, and then about his potential injury concerns:
“It’s a great finish. It’s a really composed, comfortable finish from an incredible goalscorer. When you look at his record of what he’s achieved in 200 games, it’s phenomenal.
“Every time you have surgery, you worry: ‘Am I ever going to come back to the level? Will I ever be able to sprint again?’ I played with Michael Owen who was incredible. I remember Michael tearing his hamstrings very early into his career and he definitely lost half a yard of pace. He became normal to a certain extent. because he was much quicker than anyone else and Harry, although he doesn’t rely on his pace, you still want to feel that you can get away from people.”
TIF Thoughts…
Owen’s career was certainly blighted by injury problems and the goals certainly dried up for the striker later on his career, although he does have a Ballon d’Or to his name. Hopefully, for Kane, who now has 182 goals for the north London club, his recent hamstring injury won’t have the same sort of impact that it did on Owen. Redknapp also mentions the fact that Kane made his 200th Premier League appearance on Tuesday evening; with the 26-year-old having contributed 137 goals in that time, which certainly is a phenomenal record.
Do you think Kane's career will go the same way as Owen's did?
Yes
No
The Lilywhites will perhaps be reliant on their top scorer in the remaining Premier League fixtures if they are to have any hope of securing a Champions League spot ahead of next season.