Roy Hodgson is convinced Harry Kane has the qualities on and off the field to avoid becoming a footballing Icarus, but the England manager has vowed to handle him carefully before the game against Italy on Tuesday.
The likelihood of the Tottenham striker starting in Turin became greater on Saturday after Danny Welbeck pulled out of the squad because of a knee injury he suffered in Friday’s 4-0 win over Lithuania. Welbeck sustained the injury in the second half of the victory at Wembley and was replaced in the 77th minute.
Kane’s first England goal, 78 seconds after coming on for his debut, has done nothing to dampen the fervour surrounding the 21-year-old. But Hodgson said he took seriously his responsibility to handle Kane’s introduction to the senior England side sensitively for the match in Turin, where he is likely to start given injuries to Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge.
“We’re not going to hold him back, there’s no question of that,” Hodgson said of the country’s joint top scorer in club football. “But I’m rather hoping I’ve got Harry Kane for a long period to come and I don’t want to be the one who throws him in and he flies too close to the sun.”
Hodgson said he could understand the feverish excitement among fans around Kane following a “dream come true” on his debut, but that it was his responsibility to work with the Spurs coach, Mauricio Pochettino, to manage his development to avoid burn out.
“When someone has shone quite so brilliantly, that’s always in the back of your mind. But from what I’ve seen of him, from what I know of the apprenticeship he’s already served, when I look at the qualities he possesses as a football player I’ve got no fears that will happen,” said Hodgson. “But I still think it’s prudent of Tottenham Hotspur and Pochettino and myself as the England manager not to stand here in front of you singing his praises.”
Hodgson, who said he may have to reorganise the team to play Kane in a front two with Wayne Rooney, has spoken to Pochettino about how to handle a summer that could feature a trip to Australia with Spurs and a European Under-21 tournament in the Czech Republic.
“I totally understand where people come from. I’m certain if I was just a fan I’d be shouting the same things,” said Hodgson. “But when you’ve got a responsibility as a manager and a coach, not just to Harry Kane but to lots of other players, you have to think what’s best for everybody, what’s best for the team and what’s going to make it work.”
Rooney, who has plenty of experience in handling hype, also backed Kane to deal with the frenzy around him and enjoy a long international career. “It’s incredible really,” he said. “You can feel the excitement around the country and you could hear when he came on everyone wanted him to come on. He probably didn’t even think himself that he’d score so quick.
“Through speaking to him, you can see he’s a level-headed guy and I’m sure he’s got good people around him and he’ll have the ability to be able to cope with what comes.”
Nine players have withdrawn from the squad since it was announced. That means Hodgson has 17 outfield players to choose from for the game against the country that beat England in their World Cup opener in Manaus last June. Hodgson wants to give Kieran Gibbs his seventh cap and has called up Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand as cover for the Arsenal defender.
