Lee Carsley has shock Harry Kane replacement plan as England plot all-out attack against Greece

Jude Bellingham could play as a false nine against Greece on Thursday night, with Lee Carsley considering an ultra-attacking lineup for the Nations League game at Wembley.

England captain Harry Kane will not start the game after suffering a leg injury on Bayern Munich duty last weekend, and Carsley has experimented with Bellingham up front in training this week.

The interim head coach, who effectively has six games this autumn to audition for the permanent job, could also start all four of Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon behind Bellingham in what would be a remarkably front-foot team and a clear break from Gareth Southgate's more cautious approach.

Carsley promised on Wednesday that he "has a Plan B" for Kane's absence, with Bellingham believed to be ahead of forwards Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke in the queue to replace England's record scorer. Kane has trained alone indoors this week but is hopeful of being fit to face Finland in Helsinki on Sunday.

Bellingham frequently played as a centre-forward for Real Madrid last season but has been used in a deeper role by coach Carlo Ancelotti since the signings of Kylian Mbappe and Endrick.

Southgate, who stepped down as England head coach in the summer, struggled to get the best from Foden and Bellingham during the European Championship, and Palmer did not start a game in Germany but scored in the 2-1 defeat by Spain in the final after coming off the bench.

Carsley on Wednesday said Foden is "most effective" in central areas and promised he had "a plan in place" to accommodate all of England's gifted forwards.

"Those three players are brilliant players but we have a squad of really, really exciting talented players that you have to have that feeling that you’ve earned your place rather than try and shoe-horn players into positions," Carsley said. "Hopefully, touch wood, I think we’ll be ok."

Jack Grealish played at No10 in last month's Nations League games against the Republic of Ireland and Finland but is a doubt to face Greece after sitting out training on Wednesday with a minor knock.

In Kane's absence, centre-back John Stones is expected to captain England for the first time, with Levi Colwill and Rico Lewis pushing for further starts in the back four.