Harry Kane alarm bells for England as Antonio Conte sparks concerns

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has sparked Harry Kane injury concerns after admitting the striker is suffering from fatigue ahead of the World Cup. Kane has already played 23 games for club and country this season and started Spurs’ 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night, before being substituted just before the hour mark.Conte denied Kane was brought off due to an injury after being quizzed about the 29-year-old after the match. But the Italian explained: ‘It was a problem of tiredness. Really, really tired and yesterday we had a soft training session and at one point he stopped himself to recover energy.’But he’s okay – it’s only fatigue but it’s normal because Harry played every game. When you have a player like him it’s difficult to decide you don’t play with him. Other players, maybe they could tell me, ‘I’m tired and don’t want to play and help the team.’ When I speak, I have a group of players who are men and then good players.’Another could be selfish and think for himself because in one week they have to play the World Cup. Instead, Harry Kane showed to be a really good man.’MUST READ: Man Utd team news hint dropped as Ten Hag prepares to make changes Tottenham boss Antonio Conte (left) has sparked Harry Kane injury concerns (Image: GETTY)Conte insisted wingers Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski were not fit enough to start the match at the City Ground after missing action in recent weeks with injuries, while Son Heung-min was unavailable after sustaining four fractures around his eye against Marseille last week and subsequently undergoing surgery.And the Spurs boss revealed other players in his squad are also struggling with the deluge of matches. ‘But the same for [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg and [Rodrigo] Bentancur and [Ivan] Perisic and [Eric] Dier, another who played a lot of games,’ he added. ‘We faced a really bad situation with injuries and arrived at the end in real difficulty. Now we try to rest, to recover injury.’DON’T MISSErling Haaland ‘taking Spanish lessons’ as Real Madrid links persistMan Utd boss Ten Hag handed double injury blow for Aston Villa clash’Harry Kane needs to go to Bayern Munich’ jokes Alan Shearer Tottenham ace Harry Kane has already played 23 games for club and country this season (Image: GETTY)Conte’s remarks about Kane could be a source of anxiety for England boss Gareth Southgate, who is set to name his World Cup squad on Thursday. Kane won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup in Russia after finding the back of the net six times, and the Three Lions will be pinning their hopes of the player once again throughout the Qatar tournament.But if he’s struggling with fatigue, he may be more susceptible to injuries. And Southgate will now be concerned about whether Kane can stay fit throughout a tournament that could require England to play seven matches in the space of just 28 days.