England’s captain Harry Kane and midfielders Cole Palmer and Jordan Henderson have been ruled out of Saturday’s friendly against Brazil which will be played at the Wembley Stadium, confirmed head coach Gareth Southgate.
Kane picked up an ankle injury during Bayern Munich’s 5-2 win at Darmstadt and travelled to England for the treatment in order to be ready for the match.
"No Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson or Cole Palmer tomorrow," Southgate told during a press conference on Friday, without crossing out the availability of the trio against Belgium.
"I would say Cole and Hendo have a better chance of Belgium than Harry. He'd be extremely doubtful.”
Southgate then added that the absence of these players provides an excellent chance for others. He also talked about Manchester United’s rising star Kobbie Mainoo, who has been backed by many to play for England.
"It's a brilliant opportunity for other players. We need to see them ahead of the Euros. From our perspective, it's a great exercise and opportunity."
"With Kobbie, I said last week we were conscious about how quickly we should go. You need to make the right steps at the right time with players," Southgate said.
"For us, he was the next player in. We didn't want to stop that from happening. He's fitted in brilliantly. His level of training has been excellent - we won't hesitate to put him on the pitch."
After winning the 1966 World Cup, the closest England ever came to tasting international glory was in 2021 when they played the Euro 2020 final against Italy and lost on penalties.
With one of the most complete and talented squads consisting of stars like Jude Bellingham, Jack Grealish, James Maddison, Trent-Alexander Arnold and others, England, under the stewardship of Southgate, remain one of the favourites to lift the elusive title.
