Captain Harry Kane can look forward to next month's World Cup qualifiers without distraction now he has settled his club future at Tottenham Hotspur, England manager Gareth Southgate said on Thursday.
The striker ended weeks of speculation about a move to Manchester City when he said on Wednesday he will be staying at the north London club and is "100% focused on helping the team achieve success".
Kane has played only 20 minutes of competitive action since England lost the Euro 2020 final on penalties to Italy in July, however, and Southgate indicated the physical side was more of a concern.
READ MORE: World Cup Qualifiers: Southgate names 25-man England squad, Bamford earns maiden call-up
"Inevitably we're going to have some players who are short of competitive match minutes because our players ended up back later than most of the rest," he told reporters. "Harry's in that bracket but he got into the game at the weekend."
Kane came on as a 72nd minute substitute in Spurs' 1-0 Premier League win at Wolverhampton Wanderers for his season's debut.
He had missed Tottenham's opening league win at home to champions Manchester City after being unable to train due to self-isolation requirements having returned from holiday in the Bahamas and Florida.
"The good thing from our point of view is that it looks as though everything is resolved and settled club-wise now so he's got a clear focus," said Southgate.
"I'm sure he's looking forward to getting out on the pitch with Tottenham and then with us next week."
England leads Group I with nine points from three games and plays Hungary, Andorra and Poland between September 2 and September 8.
Comments
SHARE