Keane was Kane’s England team-mate – this week they are on different paths
Sports News
It was one of those sliding doors moments that arise so often in professional sport.
At the time, of England’s two strikers for the Under-19s European Championship qualifier with Switzerland in May 2012, Will Keane seemed most likely to eventually be preparing for a World Cup semi-final this week, not Harry Kane.
“I’d never had any setbacks at that point,” says Keane in a fascinating chat with BBC Sport.
Key Moments
“When you’re young, you’re fearless. The whole trajectory of my career was up. I made my senior debut [for Manchester United]. We won the Youth Cup. I was doing well for England. Everything was taking off.”
Fate turned against Keane. He sustained a major knee injury near the end of the game and it was 16 months before he played again.
In that time, Kane completed loan stints at Norwich and Leicester and broke into the Tottenham team.
Analysis
“It’s timing,” says Keane. “Some lads go their whole career and have a few niggles, but nothing derails them too much.
“That first injury was at a crucial time. I had my foot in the door. The feeling was I would probably have been around the first team.
“If the injury had happened a couple of years later, I might have been an established squad player. When I had it, I missed 16 months at a crucial part of the transition from reserves to seniors.”
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