Gabriel Agbonlahor believes Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane is carrying an injury whilst at the World Cup.
Although Kane only scored his first goal of the tournament in England’s comfortable 3-0 win against Senegal at the weekend, the Spurs striker was crucial for the Three Lions in the group stage, with him laying on three assists.
The 29-year-old’s World Cup was plunged into doubt after he came off injured against Iran – a problem that caused him to have a scan on his ankle and leave the nation sweating over his fitness.
He returned for the next game against the USA with him playing down any concern over an injury, quoted by the BBC as calling it all just “hype and noise”.
However, former England international Agbonlahor told Football Insider that he believes the England captain isn’t fit and is still carrying previous knocks.
He said: “Harry Kane has had injury problems but hasn’t looked fit this tournament,
“He hasn’t looked like the Harry Kane we’ve seen at Spurs this season. He’s looked a bit off it, for me.”
TIF Thoughts on Agbonlahor’s comments…
There was huge concern across the nation during the opening game when Kane went down clutching his troublesome ankle, which has caused him to miss plenty of games for Tottenham in the past.
In an all-round poor England performance against the United States, the striker did look off the pace but no more lacklustre than his fellow teammates in that 0-0 draw.
But his sharpness does seem to be coming back, and his first goal at the tournament will leave an extra step in his stride as his creative play has now been rewarded.
We believe any hope England have of bringing football home lies with the foot – and potentially ankle – of Kane, but should there still be an issue, it will cause a potentially severe headache for Antonio Conte upon his return to north London.