Graeme Souness has slammed Gareth Southgate for not replacing Harry Kane sooner after suffering an ankle injury against Iran.
The England skipper is one of the most important players for the Three Lions and will be a key part of any World Cup success in Qatar.
Kane was on the receiving end of a tough challenge early in the second half of the 6-2 win over Iran but remained on the pitch until the 75th minute when he was substituted by Callum Wilson.
The 29-year-old has since undergone analysis to assess the severity of the injury ahead of England’s second Group B clash against the United States on Friday, which Souness says is down to a poor hold of decision of the English boss Southgate. .
Speaking to talkSPORT host Laura Woods on ITV, Souness said: “I look at England with the head of a manager and when I see Harry Kane’s challenge I think that lad has a history with his ankles.
“He stayed a little on the ground, he was not right. He was walking cautiously over it and I think he has to step down now.
“It happened in the 48th minute, three minutes into the second half. He came off in the 75th minute and therefore ran 27 minutes on that ankle.
“Some players need to be saved from themselves. He’s a goalscorer and he thinks ‘there are goals in this game, so I’m going to stay’. I think that’s a mistake.
“The manager should have made him leave immediately. They were also leading 3-0 at that time.
“You don’t need to risk Harry anymore.
“I wrote about this competition before I came here and I think England can do really well as long as Harry scores a lot of goals.
“When they play against good teams I don’t know who is going to score goals other than Harry Kane and so I see it as something that was avoidable and it depends on the manager because a player who wants to be the top scorer in this competition will again act selfishly.
“He needs to be saved from himself.”
Souness added: “It was a bad one. The guy’s weight landed on his ankle and he’ll have micro-bleeds on that ankle and you’re still running on it for 27 minutes.
“He shook that ankle properly. He will have had a bleed there, so for 27 minutes he ran all over that ankle and bled.
“It’s totally the wrong thing. He should have left immediately and he should have been on the ice and in an elevated position, immediately.
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