'Absolutely fine': Matt Doherty says that 29-year-old Tottenham teammate is ready to play on Boxing Day now

By Ben Evans

Tottenham Hotspur are now just days away from returning to competitive action after the World Cup break.

Their final friendly ended in a 1-1 draw against Nice, with Matt Doherty once again on the score sheet.

The Irish defender spoke after the game, via Football Daily, with the Premier League restart on the horizon.

Antonio Conte was able to call on a number of players who had been at the World Cup yesterday.

Eric Dier and Son Heung-min both came off the bench and look set to be available for Tottenham’s next game.

There were some notable players missing, with Hugo Lloris, Cristian Romero and Ivan Perisic all his in action for their countries just a few days ago.

Another player who wasn’t included was Harry Kane.

Kane has only returned to training today after captaining England to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

His missed penalty against France saw the Three Lions exit the tournament, but his overall performance was brilliant as expected.

Doherty has now said that Kane is one of the strongest characters he knows, and will be ready to play on Boxing Day.

Kane has Tottenham’s all-time goal scoring record in his sights, and will want to claim that title in the next few matches.

Kane ready to play on Boxing Day – Doherty

Doherty was asked about the wellbeing of the 29-year-old and said: “Harry’s absolutely fine. I think we all know his character, he’s one of strongest characters we know.

“He’ll be absolutely fine, and Hugo [Lloris] I’m sure he’ll be back in soon also.

“They’ll be no negativity towards them or anything like that, we’ll just welcome them back and continue as normal.”

Kane is having a fantastic season for Spurs, and has already scored 12 league goals in 15 appearances.

Were it not for the brilliance of Erling Haaland, more would have been made of how well he’s been playing this season.

Antonio Conte admitted he was seriously impressed with Kane at the World Cup, and will be glad to have him back.

Kane’s had to overcome disappointment in his career before, but won’t let that stop him being ready to play in a few days’ time.

It would be absolutely no surprise to see him find the back of the net against Brentford on Boxing Day.