Tottenham vs Monaco: Harry Kane at risk of burnout from intense workload, suggests Gary Lineker

An intense workload at such an early age could take its toll on the player's development - as it did with Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, Lineker warned

Harry Kane in training ahead of Wednesday night's Champions League fixture (Getty)

Harry Kane may have ended his recent goal drought after scoring against Stoke at the weekend, but Gary Lineker has warned that the striker is at risk of burnout.

After a total of nine games without a goal for both club and country, the Englishman finally found the back of the net as Tottenham romped to a 4-0 victory at the Bet365 Stadium last Saturday.

Although the goal will have undoubtedly helped settle the player’s nerves, there’s no doubt that Kane has looked tired and off the mark in recent weeks after an almost non-stop year of football.

On duty for England at the Under 21s European Championships last summer, Kane was thrown straight into the demands of an intense Premier League campaign under Mauricio Pochettino as Tottenham challenged Leicester City for the Premier League title.

After missing out to the Foxes in the dying stages of the 2015/16 campaign, the 23-year-old was then immediately tasked with leading Roy Hodgson’s front line in France.

Despite taking a brief break following England’s humiliating exit from Euro 2016, losing 2-1 to Iceland in the last 16, Gary Lineker has suggested that an exceptional “workload” could now be taking its toll on the player.

"I never played in the under-21s, I cut all that out, because I was a late developer so he's come to the fore a lot earlier in his career than I did,” the BT Sport presenter said.

“So I didn't have that workload so young and we've seen that that can have an affect on our great strikers.

“But it will affect some and others it won't. Obviously Rooney got in very young and the sharpness in his game kind of left him a while ago and the same sort of thing happened with Michael Owen.

“So I don't know whether that [an early workload] was anything to do with it or whether it was just a coincidence or not.”

Nonetheless, Lineker, who signed for Tottenham in July 1989 for £1.1m and enjoyed three seasons at the club, has backed Kane to regain his form with Spurs.

"You go little spells without a goal, it happens to every striker, half a dozen goals without a game or whatever, and then you bang one in and all of a sudden it's easy again.

“He'll probably score a hat-trick in his next game, and he'll get back because over a decent period of time now he's proved that he's a prolific goal-scorer and I suspect that won't change.

As for the Champions League, Lineker challenged the striker to “rise to the occasion” as Spurs prepare to face AS Monaco on Wednesday night in what will be their first fixture in Europe’s elite competition since the 2010/11 campaign.

Harry Kane scored Tottenham's fourth and final goal against Stoke at the weekend - and his first of the season (Getty)

"The CL suits good players and top players and it's just playing football against different teams from different countries who, sometimes, play in a slightly different way.

"Big players will always rise to the occasion in the big games. I suppose that's what we've got to see from Harry Kane and, again, he's done it over a long enough period now to prove that he's not just a flash in the pan.

“I think we know he's better than that, and he strikes me that he doesn't let things get to him, he's confident, he wants to take free-kicks, he wants to take the penalties, he wants to get in there on the end of things, he can play a little bit deeper, he's not overly concerned if things don't always go for him.

“I think he's got the right temperament, and temperament is a mental strength, and mental strength is a large percentage of the attributes you require to be a really top centre forward.”

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