Harry Kane has been left out of Tottenham Hotspur's squad to face Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
The 28-year-old has made it public knowledge that he would like to leave White Hart Lane this summer, and a move to the Premier League champions appears to be his most likely destination with a couple of weeks remaining in the transfer window.
There were questions raised over which jersey Kane would be donning come the opening game of the season, with his move away from Spurs hanging in the balance prior to their tie with the Cityzens.
But Kane has not travelled with the team to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and so will play no part in Spurs' first league match of the new campaign.
The striker is, according to manager Nuno Espirito Santo, lacking in match fitness ahead of the game, having only recently returned to training with his teammates. The boss confirmed as such to Sky Sports ahead of kick off.
"He is continuing his preparation, the delay all these things," he said. "Harry needs to work, he worked today and he will keep on working until he is ready the team... He worked in the morning, I don't know what he is going to do."
Kane initially failed to return to pre-season training as early as expected following his exploits at Euro 2020 - something that he later denied - but finally rejoined the squad at the end of his five-day quarantine earlier this week.
Kane's future remains up in the air, and a lot of movement is expected to happen before the transfer deadline on August 31. The England captain remains undeterred in his attempts to leave Spurs in search of trophies, and Man City are keen on landing the prolific goalscorer.
Source : 90min