England hit by triple injury scare as Lee Carsley faces Nations League headache
Lee Carsley is preparing for his third and fourth games in charge of England on an interim basis but could be forced to alter his squad following injuries to Harry Kane and two team-mates
by Nathan Ridley · The MirrorEngland captain Harry Kane is one of three injury concerns facing interim manager Lee Carsley ahead of this week's Nations League double-header.
Kane, 31, was forced off during the second half of Bayern Munich's 3-3 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. The former Tottenham striker took a knock around his right thigh and needed treatment before he was hauled off on 72 minutes.
Kane's injury followed two more concerns for Carsley which came in the Premier League 2pm kick-offs. Firstly, Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa hobbled off early in their 0-0 draw at home to Manchester United after appearing to pick up a hamstring injury.
Shortly after, midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White suffered what looked to be an ankle or lower leg injury during Nottingham Forest's 1-1 draw with Chelsea. The trio are now doubts for Thursday's game against Greece at Wembley. England then face Finland in Helsinki on Sunday for what will be Carsley's fourth game in charge.
Kane scored both goals in England's 2-0 victory over Finland last month before hitting back-to-back hat-tricks for Bayern. After the game in Frankfurt, Bayern manager Vincent Kompany was asked to provide an update on Kane and replied: "It's too early to say what's wrong with him. We hope it's not that bad."
Villa boss Unai Emery gave a similar response when asked about Konsa's injury, saying: "I don't know, hopefully it's not a lot. Hopefully, he can rest in the international break. We can have some days off [in the international break] we can recover our energy and try to push in the next month."
Defence is an area of particular concern for Carsley, having called up just four centre-backs. Levi Colwill was subbed off late on for Chelsea but it's understood that he should be able to report to St George's Park with the rest of the England squad on Monday.
Get involved! Who should Lee Carsley call up if the trio are ruled out? Tell us your three picks in the comments section.
With Konsa set to miss out, Jarrad Branthwaite could find himself called up, although the Everton centre-back missed Saturday's game against Newcastle through injury and has only played once this season. Harry Maguire was also left out of Carsley's 25-man squad but suffered a leg injury for United at Villa Park which saw him limp off just before half-time.
As for Gibbs-White, who Carsley handed a debut to in September, Nuno Espirito Santo admitted that Forest are 'worried' about him. "Hopefully, it is nothing and he can join up with the England squad. But he will have a scan tomorrow (Monday)," Nuno commented.
"It is important that it is nothing serious and that he can join them and play. But we also need him. Hopefully, it is not too serious."
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