Kane in England squad for Nations League finals

AFP  |  London 

was included in England's 23-man squad for next month's finals on Monday but Tottenham Hotspur team-mates and 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 and also sidelined.

England 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 in Saturday's final.

Kane has not played since suffering the 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 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 and was an unused substitute in the Euro 2020 qualifiers against the and 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 Ward-Prowse making just his second appearance against

England face the in their semi-final in Guimaraes, northern Portugal, a week on Thursday.

Seven players in Southgate's 23 could potentially be involved in both the final in five days earlier and the match.

- 'Difficult decisions' -

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"There have been some difficult decisions to make and we are obviously a little bit complicated with so many players involved in as well but we are really excited by the squad and the players that are around it," said Southgate in a statement issued by the

"Some players who have had really good finishes to the season like and are staying with us for this period to train because although we have cut the squad to 23, we have still got two weeks to get through and two really big finals ahead.

"is a we really like and that's a tough one because he has not played for a couple of months and we don't get to see him in training," added Southgate.

Meanwhile the former England international said right-back was "as hard a decision as we have had to make".

"Of course, has had such a big impact, he had such a brilliant He has been a really valuable member of our squad and has a great attitude with us, real passion in playing for England but Trent (Alexander-Arnold) and Kyle (Walker) have finished the season so strongly.

"So it (right-back) is a position where we have got real competition for places." face in the other semi-final the day before England's game, with both the final and third-place playoff taking place on Sunday, June 9.

England squad

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke), Tom Heaton (Burnley), Defenders: (Liverpool), (Leicester City), (Liverpool), Michael Keane (Everton), Harry Maguire (Leicester), Danny Rose (Tottenham), (Manchester City), (Manchester City) Midfielders: (Tottenham), Ross Barkley (Chelsea), (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham), (Liverpool), (Manchester United), (West Ham).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Tue, May 28 2019. 09:30 IST