London: Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino insists Harry Kane will be available for England’s upcoming friendly internationals despite an injury scare in a 1-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace.
The Spurs striker went off 14 minutes from the end of Sunday’s success at Wembley after receiving treatment in the first half.
Pochettino also believes Dele Alli will recover from a hamstring problem in time for his club’s next game with north London rivals Arsenal, even if he is missing England duty for the matches with Germany and Brazil.
But he was unsure whether Harry Winks will have to withdraw from Gareth Southgate’s squad after the midfielder went off with an ankle injury in a below-par victory where Spurs failed to hit the heights of their thrilling midweek 3-1 success over Real Madrid in the Champions League.
“Kane was subbed because after 75 minutes we wanted to protect him,” said Pochettino.
“After Real Madrid it was such an emotional game, it was better to avoid risk. I think he’s OK and I’m sure he will go with the international team.”
The former Southampton manager added: “Harry Winks twisted his ankle in the first half, it’s a little bit painful, we must assess him with our medical staff and the national team medical staff.
“He is so excited to be with the national side but now it is up to the medical staff to assess the player.
“Dele felt his tendon at the end of the Manchester United game close to his hamstring and then played 90 minutes v Real Madrid. It is a very small thing. It was not a massive risk to play him here and we hope he can be ready for Arsenal.”
Spurs were disappointing against Palace in a match where the deadlock was not broken until the 64th minute thanks to Son Heung-Min’s 20-yard drive.
“It was very difficult,” admitted Pochettino. “We knew after Real Madrid it would be a massive challenge to compete again. In the end I’m very pleased, the team was very professional.
“It was a game where we had possession and dominated but we conceded a lot of chances. You need some luck to win and it was a good performance.”
Everton defender Michael Keane was on Monday called into the England squad for the friendlies with manager Gareth Southgate forced to juggle his resources due to injury concerns.
Keane, 24, played in the Toffees’ 3-2 victory against Watford in the Premier League on Sunday after returning from a recent leg injury.
England, who topped their qualification group for Russia 2018, face world champions Germany on Friday at Wembley and host Brazil at the same venue four days later as Southgate begins preparations for next year’s tournament.
A statement on the Football Association’s website confirmed Keane had been added to the group of players due to report at St George’s Park later on Monday.
The former Burnley centre-back has four England caps, the most recent of which came in the 1-0 victory over Lithuania in early October.
