Bayern's Kane returns to England for ankle injury treatment

Kane scored his 31st Bundesliga goal of the season in Bayern's 5-2 victory at Darmstadt on Saturday, surpassing Uwe Seeler's record for the most goals in Germany's top flight in a debut season. But England's captain and record goalscorer limped off in the 82nd minute after suffering a blow to his left ankle.

Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed later that Kane had "stumbled and fell into the net and twisted his ankle" with club sporting director Christoph Freund insisting Kane "will take no risks" with injury. Kane will travel to England's training base at St George's Park ahead of two friendlies at London's Wembley Stadium against Brazil on March 23 and Belgium three days later.

The forward has a long history of ankle injuries, having been sidelined on five separate occasions with problems during his time at Tottenham Hotspur. Two separate injuries to the same ankle in 2019 saw him miss three months of the season, including both legs of Tottenham's Champions League semi-final victory over Ajax.

On Saturday, Tuchel said he "hoped the incident was just a scary moment" with the team's next match at home to Borussia Dortmund on March 30. "When Harry goes off it's never a good sign because Harry never goes off when there's still goals to score." Kane broke a 60-year record for most goals scored in a debut season in the Bundesliga.

His 31 goals from 26 games overtook German legend Seeler, who scored 30 goals in the 1963-64 season for Hamburg. Bayern are on a run of 11 straight Bundesliga titles but sit seven points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who have a game in hand. The German champions on Friday drew Arsenal in the Champions League quarter finals.

 

March 17, 2024