Harry Kane dodges England media duties as Tottenham star dodges questions from Antonio Conte

England captain Harry Kane will not speak at the Three Lions pre-match press conference on Wednesday evening. The striker will dodge questions about Antonio Conte's future following the Tottenham boss' furious rant against his players last weekend.

Conte tore his team apart after the 3-3 draw at Southampton on Saturday. He called them "selfish" and questioned their desire to play for the club.

Kane has yet to speak on the issue and won't on Wednesday. It usually happens that the England captain and coach speak to the media the day before a match.

England take on Italy in their first Euro 2024 qualifier on Thursday. They trained for the last time on Wednesday morning before flying to Napoli.

Southgate will address the media tonight but Declan Rice will be sitting alongside him, not Kane. Sky Sports News reports what is unusual for England and says Kane who will therefore avoid being asked many questions about his club's situation.

Presenter Rob Wotton said: "Now it is common practice for the pre-match press conference known as 'matchday minus 1' to be conducted by the head coach alongside the captain So normally that would mean Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane facing the media.

"But Kane will not be present tonight. This means he will not be faced with questions about his club's turbulent period at this time, with Antonio Conte's future remaining uncertain, and he will not answer nor to his head coach's claims that his Tottenham players are "selfish" or unwilling to play under pressure.

"Instead, Rice will be alongside Southgate, although there is no suggestion that Kane will not play or manage the team tomorrow night."

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Two Spurs players have spoken out so far after Conte's furious outburst. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was the first, saying on Tuesday that he wanted Conte to clarify his remarks.

The Dane said: "I understand that if you want to be successful as a team you need 11 men who are committed to a project and a culture. But I think he needs to make it clear how he feels in front of you as a player can start measuring and weighing.”

Emerson Royal also gave his opinion, saying he had no problem with Conte. The Brazilian said: "As for Conte, I have a good relationship with him.

"It's not this coach with whom we have a very close relationship, to talk a lot, it's his way, he's a coach who wants to help everyone, educated, he shows the role that he wants in everyone's game, I don't see any problem, I have a good relationship with him."