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George Bennett

Gary Neville outlines Callum Wilson 'worry' amid Harry Kane injury scare

Gary Neville says he has doubts over whether England can replace Harry Kane after his recent injury scare in Monday's 6-2 win over Iran.

The England captain picked up a knock to his ankle in their World Cup opener and was replaced by Newcastle United forward Callum Wilson.

Kane was due to undergo a scan on Wednesday but looks to have escaped relatively unscathed, with England hopeful that he can feature against the United States on Friday.

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Although Kane wasn't among the scorers for the Three Lions against Iran, he did register two assists for Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford.

Wilson also seized his chance by climbing off the bench to set-up Jack Grealish's 90th minute strike. However, Neville has claimed that the Three Lions don't have a 'direct replacement' for Kane, and is uncertain whether Wilson or Rashford can fill the void if Kane isn't passed fit.

Speaking on ITV, Neville said: "I'm a little bit worried because they are being a bit coy about it as well, England, aren't they? You have to be a bit clever but I don't think Gareth has got it in him. I don't think he's one of those managers that tries to play mind games.

"So I am a little bit worried about it in the sense that Harry Kane, there is no replacement for him directly. No one has got the quality that he's got, no one can link the way that he does.

"You saw the assists that he got the other day, that cross no one is capable of. Wilson and Rashford are good when they've got space in behind but I think when you're playing teams that have got a deeper defence, you struggle with your back to goal at times, with the quality that Harry has got, that he can drop in.

"What he can do for Tottenham over these last few years, his assists are as good as his goals. So it would be a big concern in leadership, a big concern in quality, and we haven't got a direct replacement, which we have in many other positions, but there we haven't."

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