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Blow for England and Spurs as Harry Kane warned he could be out for six months

Harry Kane has been warned that he could be out for six months following a torn hamstring suffered against Southampton on New Year’s Day, putting his participation at Euro 2020 in serious doubt.

The England captain limped off during Spurs‘ disappointing 1-0 defeat at St Mary’s earlier this month, the 26-year-old initially expected to be out until April following the problem.

However, Kane has now been warned that he faces a serious fight to feature during Euro 2020 this summer, giving Gareth Southgate a major selection headache with a leading surgeon expecting the striker’s layoff to be around six months, England playing their first game at the tournament on June 14th.

Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Chris Wilson – who has conducted the same procedure that Kane has had 75 times – admits the complexity of the procedure makes estimating recovery time difficult, but says he would be ‘very surprised’ to see the Spurs star return to action before the end of the season.

“I would expect it to be six months before he could return to action,” Dr Wilson told the Press Association. “There is a big range of opinion because it is such an uncommon procedure and some surgeons may say quicker.

“If the repair was good and sound, the first six weeks he will be nursing the repair and doing very little. Six to 12 weeks, providing everything was OK, he will be doing basic strengthening exercises. At three months you would start a normal hamstring rehabilitation that you would do if you got a tear in the middle of the muscle.

“If I was talking to a top-level footballer I would want to manage their expectations and say I wouldn’t anticipate them being fit and playing normally in a game for six months following the surgery.

“If it was me I would say aim for getting fit for pre-season training. I am aware in Harry Kane’s case they have been saying April or May – I have to say I would be very surprised.”

Despite the prospect of potentially missing a major tournament, Wilson added that he would warn against rushing the striker back to fitness, admitting there is an increased chance of re-rupture should Kane return too early.

“There is a risk of recurrence. When you do a hamstring repair, you’ll tell the athlete there is a risk of re-rupture,” he added. “Coming back too early increases the risk of re-rupture. There is no getting around that.

“Most of the surgeons will say it will take at least three months before he is doing some normal running and training.

“He may defy expectations. If it was me, I would say forget playing before six months, no matter how good you feel.

“His surgeon may be a bit more relaxed about it and say, ‘Get to three months and see how he is’.”

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