Kieran Trippier among players axed from England squad

Harry Kane is in England's 23-man squad for the Nations League Finals but Tottenham team-mates Kieran Trippier and Harry Winks have been left out.

Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate has cut his group down from an initial list of 27 that he named on May 16, with Southampton duo Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse joining Trippier and Winks in dropping out.

Captain Kane, who has not played since suffering ankle ligament damage in April, is confirmed as retained on the day the striker declared himself "ready" for Spurs' clash with Liverpool in Saturday's Champions League final.

Kane sustained the injury in the first leg of the quarter-final against Manchester City on April 9, which was also when Winks made his last appearance.

Tottenham announced later that month that Winks had undergone groin surgery, while the midfielder said he hoped it was not the end of his season.

Full-back Trippier, part of England's run to the World Cup semi-finals last summer, was an unused substitute in the Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro in March.

Redmond had been a surprise inclusion in Southgate's 27-man squad, having been overlooked since winning his only England cap in March 2017.

Ward-Prowse, who made his senior international debut at the same, won his second cap in the recent Montenegro game.

England face Holland in their Nations League semi-final a week on Thursday in Guimaraes.

There are seven players in Southgate's 23 who could potentially be involved in the match in the Champions League final in Madrid five days earlier.

Redmond, who won a Player of the Year double at Southampton's end-of-year awards, and Ward-Prowse will remain training with the squad for the time being.

Southgate said in a statement from the Football Association: "We have got exciting players and picking a squad is really difficult because we have lots of depth of talent, not only the squad we have picked but the Under-21s as well.

"There has been some difficult decisions to make and we are obviously a little bit complicated with so many players involved in the Champions League as well but we are really excited by the squad and the players that are around it.

"Some players who have had really good finishes to the season like James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond are staying with us for this period to train because although we have cut the squad to 23, we have still got two weeks to get through and two really big finals ahead. So some of those calls are even more difficult.

"Harry Winks is a player we really like and that's a tough one because he has not played for a couple of months and we don't get to see him in training. He is back training with Spurs, he might be involved at the weekend but we wouldn't see him until two days before the game.

"So when we had other midfielders who are either with us or who are playing regularly, that was the only thinking behind that decision. Harry could still come into that mix and has done very well for us whenever he has played with England, so is a player we like.

"Of course, Kieran Trippier has had such a big impact, he had such a brilliant World Cup. He has been a really valuable member of our squad and has a great attitude with us, real passion in playing for England but Trent (Alexander-Arnold) and Kyle (Walker) have finished the season so strongly.

"So it (right-back) is a position where we have got real competition for places. That is as hard a decision as we have had to make."

Nations League Finals hosts Portugal face Switzerland in the other semi-final the day before England's game, and both the final and third-place play-off then take place on Sunday June 9.