Lee Carsley has issued an urgent call to England captain Harry Kane, who is now fit and ready for action. Carsley confirms that after two days of full training, Kane is prepared to face Finland, as England desperately seek a victory to turn their Nations League fate around.
Arsenal‘s Bukayo Saka has returned to his club for treatment on a hamstring injury, which saw him sidelined during the catastrophic defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday night.
Carsley’s own prospects of securing the job could hinge on England topping their Nations League Group, making the Finland match a must-win game.
Interim England boss Carsley experimented with Jude Bellingham in the false nine role but admits that record scorer Kane has proven himself to be “irreplaceable” over the years.
Carsley also confirmed that Jack Grealish is fit after missing the Greece match, stating: “They both trained on Friday, they trained today, so in terms of their fitness everything’s fine.”
When asked about what Harry brings to the team, Carsley said: “Having watched the games that he’s played in and the influence that he has on the team, he leads by example, really good captain, great positive person to have around.”
“We always have that when we’ve got something really good in front of us: we’re always looking for the next big thing.
“But I think we should appreciate what we’ve got in front of us with Harry. His goalscoring speaks for itself, what he’s done in the past should massively be respected and I think he’s still got a lot of games and goals in him, hopefully.”
When questioned about whether Kane, who boasts a record of 68 goals in 100 caps, remains indispensable, Carsley responded: “He has proved that in the past with the impact that he has had. His goals record for England and Bayern and Tottenham is brilliant and something we should really appreciate.”
Carsley also disclosed that Saka is hopeful of being match-ready for Arsenal‘s upcoming clash with Bournemouth on Saturday, despite his early exit from the Greece game at Wembley.
The England medical team were optimistic that Saka could have been fit for the Finland match but, having played just three days prior, they decided against risking his fitness, resulting in him not travelling to Finland with the rest of the squad.
Carsley further commented: “Bukayo would have been close but it would have been unfair to take a risk with him. He’s a positive person and I expect him to be fine.”
