Is Kane a World Cup fitness concern for England? Conte explains early substitution in Spurs' Carabao Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest

• Striker starting every game at club level
• Coach took him off in cup defeat
• Bid for global glory about to be opened

WHAT HAPPENED? The Spurs striker was replaced just before the hour mark in a 2-0 Carabao Cup third-round defeat at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday – in what was his 21st consecutive start for the north London outfit across all competitions. Conte has ruled out any injury concerns regarding Kane, who is set to captain his country in Qatar, but concedes that the 29-year-old is feeling a little tired.

WHAT THEY SAID: Explaining his decision to take Kane off at the City Ground, with Gareth Southgate set to name his 26-man England squad on Thursday, Conte said: “It was a problem of tiredness. It's only fatigue but it's normal because Harry played every game. Yesterday we had a soft training session and at one point he stopped himself to recover energy. Other players maybe they could tell me, 'I'm tired and don't want to play and help the team'. Another could be selfish and think for himself because in one week they have to play the World Cup. Instead, Harry Kane showed to be a really good man. But I repeat, it's normal, what's happening in this period.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: England will be hoping to have Kane firing on all cylinders when they open another quest for global glory against Iran on November 21 – with a talismanic presence in their ranks having netted 51 goals for the Three Lions through 75 appearances.

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WHAT NEXT FOR KANE? Tottenham have one more fixture to take in before the World Cup break – a Premier League home date with Leeds on Saturday that will see them looking to offer a positive response to back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Forest.