Kane in squad for Nations League

Harry Kane was included in England’s 23-man squad for next month’s Nations League finals on Monday but Tottenham Hotspur team-mates Harry Winks and Kieran Trippier were both left out. Gareth Southgate, the England manager, has reduced his group from the list of 27 he named earlier this month, with Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond also sidelined.

England captain Kane, who has not played since suffering ankle ligament damage in April, was retained by the Southgate on the day he insisted he was “ready” for Spurs’ clash with Liverpool in Saturday’s Champions League final. Kane has not played since suffering the injury in the first leg of Tottenham’s quarter-final against Manchester City on April 9, which was also when Winks made his last appearance.

Spurs subsequently announced Winks had undergone groin surgery, although the midfielder said he hoped it was not the end of his season. Trippier, a full-back, was a member of the England squad that made it to the semi-finals of last year’s World Cup and was an unused substitute in the Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro in March. Redmond was a surprise inclusion in Southgate’s 27-man squad, having been overlooked since winning his only England cap in March 2017, with WardProwse making just his second appearance against Montenegro.

England face the Netherlands in their Nations League semi-final in Guimaraes, northern Portugal, a week on Thursday. Seven players in Southgate’s 23 could potentially be involved in both the Champions League final in Madrid five days earlier and the Netherlands match. ‘Difficult decisions’