England captain Harry Kane will not be fit enough to face Wales in a friendly tomorrow, manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed.
However, the Bayern Munich striker should be ready for the World Cup qualifier versus Latvia on Tuesday.
Kane has been on fire this term, netting 18 goals in 10 outings for Bayern to spearhead the club to the summit of the Bundesliga and Champions League tables.
He has now recorded 103 goals in 106 games for Bayern. Meanwhile, his strike against Serbia in the last international break took his tally to 74 goals for the Three Lions.
Unfortunately, Kane came to the camp with a niggling injury, although it is not enough to keep him out for an extended period.
Thankfully, England have enough firepower to cope without the former Tottenham Hotspur striker.
Aston Villa man Ollie Watkins is there to lead the line. Marcus Rashford is also capable of playing as a striker in Kane’s absence.
Tuchel must also make a big call regarding who will captain England against Wales at Wembley Stadium.
Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice and John Stones are in contention.
If Tuchel is looking for leadership and reliability, Rice should be the clear choice to wear the armband.
The Arsenal midfielder has become the heartbeat of both club and country, delivering elite-level consistency in every fixture.
Rice is calm in possession, relentless in recovery, and vocal in keeping his teammates switched on.
Besides Kane, no English player has performed at such a high level over the past year, both domestically and internationally.
Handing Rice the captaincy would be a natural reward for his growth and the perfect signal of England’s evolving leadership core.
