- Jul 9, 2007
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Well there is risk from an international perspective too. England would really not want him to just be coming back from injury before playing matches. In fact they would want international players to be playing regularly, maintaining both there match fitness and form.The difference is that when Spurs play him while not fully fit, Spurs are the ones assuming the risk that it turns into an injury that keeps him out for 3 or 4 weeks. When England do that, it’s still Spurs assuming the risk of him missing 3 or 4 weeks. Southgate can decide to take a risk knowing that if it goes wrong he’s only going to be without Kane for one more international break - or knowing Kane he would probably return just in time for the next international break so England could take the same risk all over again.
But, I think we would still play him even if it was England that assumed the risk. Say towards the end of the season or say before an international break. If it's just friendlies, fine, but this is a competitive fixture regardless of what value you give it. We wouldn't rest Kane in a competitive fixture before an international match and nor can we expect England to do so. Similarly, England could argue in our cramped run out Kane shouldn't have played as much, or at the very least been substituted earlier in the Europa League and against Man utd as those games were won by half time. In fact, any muscle issues are most likely as a result of Tottenham taking risks that have not benefited the national team.
The way I see it, this is about tottenham fans prioritising Tottenham ahead of England, which is valid. To not want him to play, is absolutely valid, so is thinking England should not start him if there are fitness worries. But, Kane will be desperate to play and England will want to play him if they can, and fans just have to deal with it, rather than create some sort of negative narrative around southgate and England acting in their own interest. Which is Southgate's job btw.