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Gareth Southgate confirms Harry Kane fitness boost as Tottenham vs West Ham looms: 'He's not injured'

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Getty Images

Tottenham fans were left breathing a sigh of relief ahead of the upcoming London derby against West Ham after England boss Gareth Southgate allayed injury concerns regarding Harry Kane.

Kane was expected to return to lead the Three Lions in Sunday's high-profile Uefa Nations League fixture against Belgium, having been rested for Thursday's 3-0 friendly victory over Wales at Wembley.

However, reports on Sunday morning suggested that the Spurs talisman was a major doubt for the match having picked up a muscle injury in training.

That inevitably provoked fears that Kane could miss Tottenham's home Premier League clash against rivals West Ham on Sunday (October 18).

However, Kane was subsequently named on the bench for England against Belgium, with Southgate downplaying his issue as muscle fatigue and suggesting that he could play some part in the fixture if required.

"He started training Wednesday and had a bit of what he felt was cramp, so he's had muscle fatigue basically," Southgate said.

"He's not injured and he's there perhaps for later in the game.

"He seems more confident in how he feels, but he hasn't had a lot of training time on the pitch this week."

Kane has made eight appearances across all competitions already for Tottenham during a hectic start to the 2020/21 campaign, scoring eight times including a brace in last weekend's 6-1 thrashing of Manchester United and a hat-trick against Israeli side Maccabi Haifa that helped seal the club's place in the group stages of the Europa League.

He also laid on four assists in a single game in the 5-2 win over Southampton last month and Spurs boss Jose Mourinho will be keen for him to stay fit during a busy end to the month that includes matches against West Ham, LASK, Burnley and Antwerp.

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