Saturday 7 October 2017 10:31, UK
Kevin Keegan believes England's World Cup hopes would be seriously dented if Harry Kane got injured.
Keegan has drawn parallels with 1982 when he was England's star man going into the World Cup in Spain, but injuries to himself and Trevor Brooking scuppered England's chances.
Kane and his Tottenham team-mate Dele Alli are arguably the modern-day equivalent of Keegan and Brooking, and the former England captain and manager says it's vital they both stay fit for next summer's finals in Russia.
"I did think we had a chance in 1982 until me and Trevor Brooking got injured," Keegan said. "We had other good players, but we were the main reason we qualified.
"It's important everyone stays fit. Not just Kane, but also Dele Alli. You want all your best players, and then you have got a chance.
"If you went to a World Cup and you took, let's say, Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens out of the great Dutch side, people would not be surprised if they lost.
"But with England, people still think you are going to win it without your two best players. It's being English, it's the optimism."
Keegan admits he once had reservations about Kane, who's late goal against Slovenia made sure of England's qualification for Russia next year, but he has since been won over.
"Alan Shearer is a massive fan of Kane," added Keegan, who was speaking at the Aspire4Sport Congress and Exhibition.
"I know from when I worked in Qatar with him he was saying how good Kane was. That was a year and a half ago and I wasn't sure.
"I said we need to have a good look at him, see if he gets the 20 or 30 goals that you were getting - and of course now he is doing that."
