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Tottenham Hotspur need to hand Harry Kane an extended rest following his busy schedule in recent months, according to Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson.

What's the word?

Fresh from firing England to the World Cup semi-finals, Harry Kane has returned to North London to carry the mantle for Tottenham Hotspur in a crucial season for the Lilywhites - but there has been a fierce debate concerning the striker.

Kane has appeared in all six of Spurs' matches so far this season, scoring three goals for Mauricio Pochettino's side, but at times has not looked to be at his best - which was extremely clear during the Champions League defeat to Inter Milan.

Many are calling for Kane to be handed a rest and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has weighed in with his opinion on the matter, stating that the Lilywhites need to be prepared to hand their star man a proper rest.

What was said?

"Kane needs more than just a midweek break. I don't know if he went away on holiday but he needs three or four days to just get away, sit down with his family on the beach or something.

"That's a rest. I think a rest over here, training every day and then going home, doing the same old things is not really a rest if I'm honest. He needs to get away and chill."

Is he right?

Regular watchers of Harry Kane will know full well that, at times, the England man has been off the pace and Paul Merson's comments hit the nail on the head, as sitting out of the Carabao Cup win over Watford is not enough.

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The danger, however, is that Spurs may well have missed their ideal opportunity to give Kane the rest he needs as the ideal situation would have seen the forward miss last weekend's clash with Brighton, along with the midweek tie with Watford and Saturday's affair against Huddersfield.

Now though, Spurs need Kane to be ready to go in next week's crunch tie with Barcelona and he is then likely to be back on England duty early next month - which is followed by stern tests against West Ham and Chelsea, wedged either side of another important Champions League clash.

While Kane remains amongst the action without a rest, Mauricio Pochettino is playing a very risky game of Russian roulette that could easily lead to problems.