Harry Kane has allayed any lingering injury fears as England’s Euro 2024 opener draws ever closer.
The Three Lions captain missed the last two games of a terrific 44-goal season at club level with Bayern Munich after a back issue, last featuring in the Champions League semi-final second-leg defeat by Real Madrid in early May.
Kane played no part for the Bundesliga giants in subsequent league games against Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim, sparking fears that England’s influential skipper and attacking talisman may be heading into the European Championship in Germany far from full fitness.
Despite training at St George’s Park last week, the former Tottenham stalwart did not start Monday night’s Euros warm-up friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Newcastle, with Ollie Watkins - and not Ivan Toney - instead leading the attack flanked by West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen plus two first-time senior international starters in Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze.
However, Kane did enjoy an impactful 30-minute cameo off the bench at St James’ Park, impressing with his all-round game before finishing off a comfortable 3-0 win from close range late on after Palmer had netted from the penalty spot Trent Alexander-Arnold volleyed home, England turning up the tempo after half-time following a tame opening period.
He is now set to return to England’s starting lineup for their final pre-Euros fixture against Iceland at Wembley on Friday night, with no concerns over his status for the Group C opener against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on June 16 as things stand.
"I am feeling good,” Kane told Channel 4 after the win on Tyneside. “A lot of the end of season was precaution, of course there is a big summer coming up.
"We didn't want to take risks with it. In the end it was a good chance to take a good break after a tough season.
"It has almost worked in my favour, missing the back end of the season. It gave me a chance to get a bit more rest than I was going to get.
"I'm not one who takes too long to get sharp and it was nice to get a goal there to get that feeling back again."
