Antonio Conte says Harry Kane is ready to return to the fray for Tottenham at Brentford on Boxing Day, just a fortnight after missing a decisive quarter-final penalty for England at the World Cup.
The Spurs coach says he has “no worries” over the mental state of his striker after working with him over the past two days at Hotspur Way. Conte did, however, describe the return of the Premier League as “weird” and said he was yet to make up his mind how best to use his players returning from the World Cup.
“We are talking about a world-class striker,” Conte said of Kane. “I am not worried about it, I saw him these two days with us, [he is] very well. Football is this: you can have an exciting moment and also have a moment when you are disappointed. He missed the second penalty, but he scored the first. When I was a player I never missed a penalty because I didn’t [take a] kick. Never. I was a real disaster. But I still lost a final with a penalty [shootout] against Brazil.”
Conte was part of the Italy squad that lost the World Cup final at USA 94 after set-piece specialist Roberto Baggio hit his spot-kick over the bar, just as Kane did. “You live this moment and you are really disappointed,” Conte recalled, “but then you know you have to move on and football gives you the opportunity to have other chances to enjoy.”
Spurs still have Cristian Romero absent, the centre-half celebrating with his Argentina teammates after their World Cup victory, while Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur are nursing injuries sustained in the tournament. Conte said the Brazil forward is still three to four weeks away from returning to training.
Hugo Lloris will be on the bench for Spurs against Brentford, despite playing for France in last Sunday’s final. “Lloris has come back but we want him to stay on the bench for Brentford,” Conte said. “It is important we still give the [World Cup] players some rest.
“To play after 41 days [break] it’s strange. It’s strange because usually you have this time to prepare a new season in the summer, after players are rested and your mind is clear. Instead I followed all my players in the World Cup with fingers crossed because you know very well you can lose [them]. Now it’s a fresh start for players we’ve worked with for four weeks, but for others it’s a big effort.”