(Football news) England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed that Harry Kane will be available for the Three Lions’ World Cup match against the USA on Friday. Kane suffered a knock on his right ankle in the second half in England’s 6-2 win over Iran and was eventually substituted in the 76th minute and subsequently underwent a scan to determine the seriousness of the injury. 

Speaking about his availability, Southgate said “He's good. He's worked a little bit more individually today, but he'll be back in with the team tomorrow and all good for the game. We just checked him out just to see. I think, sometimes, when you're treating things, it's important to know exactly what is there and that is all good. It's not so much the ankle, it's more the foot. It was a poor challenge, really, but I think it's one that, fortunately, we've gotten away with reasonably lightly. I was [holding my breath] when he went down on the pitch, but once he'd carried on playing, everything was good."

It’s puzzling as to why Southgate did not substitute Kane earlier, especially considering that he sustained the ankle injury in the 48th minute and went on to play until the 75th minute despite clearly struggling with his movement. England were already 3-0 up at that point and while Kane probably believed he would score against Iran, it simply would have made more sense to not aggravate his injury in order to be fully fit for other games. England will face a tougher match against the USA as compared to their opening fixture against Iran and Harry Kane will be a focal point of the Three Lions’ attack in the coming games.

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