(Reuters) -England captain Harry Kane will miss Thursday’s friendly against Wales at Wembley due to an ankle injury that kept him out of team training on Wednesday, manager Thomas Tuchel said.
The Bayern Munich striker suffered a knock in the closing stages of last weekend’s Bundesliga win over Eintracht Frankfurt and trained away from the squad on Wednesday.
“Harry will miss tomorrow’s game. He got a kick in his last match with Bayern Munich,” Tuchel told reporters.
“It was too painful to kick a ball and it was too risky (to play tomorrow). We gave him a chance to rest. I’m convinced he will be ready for the match against Latvia.”
England face Latvia away on Oct. 14 when they could secure their automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup if they win and Serbia drop points against Albania on Saturday.
Tuchel said either Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson or John Stones would stand in as captain against Wales.
Kane has had a sizzling start to the season with 11 goals and three assists for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
The striker is England’s all-time record goalscorer with 74 goals in 109 appearances, and has scored 103 goals in 106 appearances in all competitions for his Bundesliga team since leaving boyhood club Tottenham Hotspur in 2023.
He indicated earlier this week that he was open to extending his stay at Bayern beyond 2027 when his current deal ends, saying his desire to return to the Premier League has dimmed.
Tuchel said he has been forced into four changes against Wales from the starting line-up that won 5-0 away to Serbia last month, but would have started with the eleven.
“The feedback after our last match was very, very positive, and I think all the credit goes to the team because even the fans in the stadium, but even at home, felt that we played as a team. That was most important,” Tuchel said.
Wales have not beaten England at Wembley since 1977 and will have one eye on next week’s World Cup qualifier against Belgium.
“We are here tomorrow to come and play our brand of football in difficult circumstances, in an incredible place like Wembley,” coach Craig Bellamy said.
“It is excitement. We are not here as tourists to enjoy the occasion. We are here to be the best version of ourselves.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman and Lori EwingEditing by Christian Radnedge and Toby Davis)
