Spurs' Kane to sponsor Leyton Orient's shirt next season

(Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur's England striker Harry Kane will sponsor Leyton Orient's shirt next season with the space on the front given to promote charitable causes, the League Two (fourth tier) club said on Thursday.

The home shirt will display a thank you message to healthcare workers on the frontline battling the COVID-19 pandemic while the away and third kits will carry logos of a children's hospice and a mental health charity.

"It is with great pleasure to announce that Harry Kane has taken our front of shirt sponsorship for the 2020-21 season," Orient said in a statement https://www.leytonorient.com/2020/05/14/breaking-the-os-announce-groundbreaking-shirt-sponsorship-guess-whos-back.

"With approval given from the Premier League, FA and EFL, a first of its kind deal has been agreed which the club are extremely proud of," it added, with 10% of the proceeds of each shirt sale to be passed to that charity.

Kane, who made his senior debut with east london side Orient in 2011 when he was on loan for half a season from Spurs, said he was proud to support the club and the causes involved.

"I was born and brought up only a couple of miles from the stadium and I'm really happy to have the opportunity to give back to the club that gave me my first professional start," Kane said in the statement.

"This also gives me a platform to be able to say a big thank you to the many frontline heroes and charities out there who provide care and support during these challenging times."

Kane was recovering from a hamstring injury that required surgery before the Premier League was suspended in March due to the pandemic with nine rounds remaining.

The league is looking to restart the campaign in June and the England skipper, who has 27 goals for club and country this season, said he was ready to play whenever the season resumes.

"I was at a good stage before the lockdown. I was pretty much doing everything except for training with the team," the 26-year-old told Sky Sports.

"Since the lockdown's happened, I've continued doing sessions online with the team, a bit of specific work where I do my own stuff for the hamstring... Last week or so we've been able to go in and do one-on-one training.

"It's been nice to get out and start touching a ball again. Whenever the season does continue, whether it's next month, or two months, three months, I should be ready to go from the first game."

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Pritha Sarkar and Ken Ferris)