Harry Kane insists “he is ready to play today” ahead of the Champions League final
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane insists that he is ready to “play today” ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final against Liverpool.
The England international has been absent from duty since picking up an injury against Manchester City in the quarter-finals in April.
Will Pochettino start Kane? Five things you need to know…
- This season, Harry Kane has continued his excellent scoring rate, netting 24 goals in 39 games this season, averaging a goal every 1.62 games.
- Kane picked up a nasty ankle injury in April during the Champions League quarter-final first leg against City.
- Since then, he has missed nine games in all competitions for Spurs.
- However, the north London side have managed to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League and reach the Champions League final.
- Spurs take on Liverpool on Saturday in an all-English affair at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
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With massive uncertainty surrounding whether Kane would be able to return to full fitness in time for arguably the biggest game of Tottenham Hotspur’s history, the striker himself has addressed those doubts directly.
Speaking to reporters, Kane insists that he is back in training, feeling fit and would be ready to play today if manager Mauricio Pochettino decided to bring him into the starting eleven.
When asked about his fitness, Kane said: “I could play if the Champions League final was today. I trained Friday, and I trained Saturday. I’ll train this week and I feel good.
“But, of course, all those decisions come down to the manager and who he wants to pick, who he feels is fit and ready to play.
“From my point of view I feel good, so we’ll just see how this week goes and go from there.”
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Can he convince Poch?
Speaking last week with reporters ahead of the Champions League final, Spurs boss Pochettino discussed the chances of star man Kane taking his place back in the starting line-up against Jurgen Klopp’s squad in Spain.
After all, in his absence, Spurs frontmen Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Fernando Llorente have all played their part in ensuring the club’s summer holidays were delayed by their biggest match for quite some time.
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Perhaps wanting to stay coy on his tactical plans or genuinely in doubt over who will feature from the off in Spain, Pochettino told reporters that although Kane’s fitness has returned, he isn’t guaranteed a starting place on Saturday.
Pochettino said: “I think Harry Kane is in the last week, Friday and Saturday, starting to be involved with the group.
“[I am] Very positive the situation with him.
“We have one week ahead to see how he is progressing. It’s so important that he feels well and he’s very positive.
“We’ll see what happens. I cannot say if he’ll be 100% fit or starting, or on the bench or out.”
