Southgate reflects on Kane's injury and first season with Bayern

Harry Kane missed Bayern Munich's last two games of the season with a back injury, prompting speculation as to whether the England captain will be fit in time for the European Championship.

However, England manager Gareth Southgate is confident that his captain will be fully fit for the tournament in Germany.

“He's obviously missed the end of the season with a back issue,” said Southgate at a press conference on Tuesday after including Kane in his 33-man preliminary squad for the Euros. 

“But our understanding from our end and from the medical team at Bayern is that it should not be a problem once we get back into training.”

On a personal level, Kane enjoyed a strong first season with Bayern Munich, finding the net 44 times in 45 appearances in all competitions, but it wasn't enough to lead the Bavarians to silverware, meaning the 30-year-old is yet to win a trophy in his career.

Commenting on Kane's season, Southgate said:

"It won’t be nice for him and I'm sure he will be aware of what people will say about that [not winning a trophy]. But his love for this challenge and desire to make this work has never wavered and he is definitely looking forward to this tournament. He will of course be disappointed that he hasn’t won the league but there has been a lot going on at the football club [Bayern] which has been obvious from the outside. 

“It has been a slightly different role there I would say, as he has been encouraged to stay higher and a little bit less involved in the build-up. But he has delivered what we thought he would deliver in terms of goals in that league and I know the club are super happy with what he has done.”