It's been a tough and uncompromising season for Harry Kane.

A full on Premier League, cup games, Europa League matches and playing for England all within the last 12 months now seem to have taken their toll.

Kane is clearly tired. He's off the pace and his magical touch is eluding him to the point that against Russia, he was the player with the fewest touches on the pitch.

The 22-year-old quite rightly started against Wales, but by half-time it was an inevitable change and Kane watched the rest of the game from the bench. If he could admit it, he would surely confirm that he is drained.

The footballing world needs to be wary of selecting young players after long seasons. At his age, Kane is still young and still learning, and the effect could eventually cause burn-out, which will not go on to serve club, country or player well.

The Tottenham Hotspur forward, the Premier League's leading scorer last season with 25 goals, failed to shine in England's opening match and appears to lack energy.

Conversely, his replacement, Jamie Vardy, is full of running and equalised for England on Thursday. Obviously he hasn't played as many games as Kane, but he is that bit older. Nonetheless, Vardy should be starting against Slovakia next week and Kane should be rested.

Talking to the BBC, Alan Shearer said: "Roy Hodgson would be well within his rights to tell Harry Kane that his performance in Saturday's draw against Russia was not good enough and he has to improve or he will change things up front - and rightly so. I am a huge fan of Kane, and he has had another fantastic season for Tottenham, but he looked very leggy and tired against Russia on Saturday.

"Kane did not have a lot of energy and he did not play well. He did not manage a single touch in the opponents' penalty area and you have probably already heard what I think about him taking corners, too."

When Harry Kane started against Wales he had already played 4,777 minutes of football for club and country this season, far more than any other striker in Roy Hodgson’s squad. On top of that statistic, Kane often covers far more distance on the pitch than other forwards. He can run up to 13km in a Premier League match, and often at pace.

It is no surprise to anyone that he's worn out. Having been involved in last summer’s U-21 European Championship, when he did look tired after his breakthrough season at Spurs, Kane has gone from playing 56 matches in one season to 61 games in the next, and with only a two-week break last June.

Those close to Kane have admitted that it is not unusual for him to put in such a performance as against Russia and then to follow it with a more dynamic, goalscoring display. He did it on numerous occasions for Spurs last season.

And it is all part of Kane’s insatiable appetite for self-improvement and one endorsed by his club. Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino tailored a specific power programme for Kane to develop him, while the player himself has used a sprint coach to develop a yard of pace that he naturally does not possess.

Kane is also a very honest and positive character, one who will confront issues head-on and does not shirk away, so you can be sure that he knows how far short he fell when he played against a particularly poor Russia side.

Expect Kane to be on the bench for Slovakia and firing on all cylinders for whoever England meet in the next stages, all being well.

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