Mauricio Pochettino insists he and his Tottenham Hotspur staff are taking no risks over the fitness of star striker Harry Kane.
Kane, who has never scored a Premier League goal in August, played in Tottenham’s opening-day victory over Newcastle United and is set to start against Fulham on Saturday, despite captaining England at the World Cup.
He started all of England’s games in Russia and has only had one summer off in four since becoming a first-team regular for Tottenham. Over the past four seasons, the 25-year-old has played 220 games for club and country.
Kane looked sluggish after rushing back from an ankle injury suffered against Bournemouth last season and once again appeared short of full match fitness at Newcastle.
But Pochettino has suggested Kane’s fitness is being managed internally and said: “You know I respect all opinions. I only have my own truth. We all have our own truths about what we see and how we manage.
“We can't explain how we manage players inside. The people outside don't know how Harry Kane was after playing 90 minutes last week. They don't know if Sunday Harry was off, Monday off or training or relaxation or one session or in the gym.
“Be sure that I am not going to take a risk. If we are conscious that we would be taking a risk, be sure he is not going to play. There are 25-30 people who are coaches, sport scientists, physios and we talk a lot about fitness health and everything. If we are wrong, we are 25-30 people wrong.”
Tottenham manager Pochettino also insisted Kane has not been rushed back into action following the World Cup because Heung-min Son, who has deputised for him in the past, is away with South Korea at the Asian Games.
“When we take a decision about health it is not a football decision,” said Pochettino. “The responsibility is for Jesus (Perez, who is Pochettino’s assistant), who coordinates everything and tells me ‘this player can play and it's not a risk’. But you know in football, it's always impossible. The most fit players can get injuries.
“Of course if this happens someone will say you made a bad decision. But it is not easy. You know very well that taking decisions is the most difficult thing. The easy thing is to give your opinion when the thing happens or after the result.”
Manchester City have seen Kevin De Bruyne, who played for as long as Kane with Belgium at the World Cup, suffer a knee injury that will keep him out for around three months.
But Pochettino said: “It's 100 per cent impossible, 100 per cent, to stop injuries. I don't know what happened with Kevin De Bruyne, maybe it’s unlucky.
“It's not the best thing, with not good rest for the players, starting again the season and the demands of professional football, which are massive.
“But, of course, too much holidays for the players are not good, not so much is the same, it's not so good. It's so difficult to find the balance. It's a massive challenge for every single coaching staff.
“I think Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are different, but Tottenham, City, and Manchester United, the teams that had more players involved in the semi-finals of the World Cup, it's a massive challenge for us, trying to care, to look after them.
“It's about time, taking the right decisions to provide them days off, holidays, and how we approach training for everyone.”