Harry Kane injury gives Troy Deeney a huge opportunity to force his way into England squad

HARRY KANE’S unfortunate injury on Sunday is a blow for club and country.

But high-level football can be a fast-paced, clinical world in which players have to make the most of opportunities that come and go in the blink of an eye.

If Kane is ruled out for a number of weeks then England boss Sam Allardyce needs to work out how to fill his squad with strikers for the next game — the World Cup qualifier against Malta on October 8.

That dilemma has been churning away in my mind and there is one player who you think really could do a good job and make the most of a call-up — Troy Deeney.

Every time I watch him play for Watford, he is at least a seven-out-of-ten player; often an eight.

That degree of consistency is difficult to achieve in the Premier League but Deeney ticks a lot of boxes.

He scores goals, he holds the ball up superbly with his strength, he has quality and composure.

Look at the goal he scored against West Ham. That would not look out of place in Spain’s La Liga with the brilliance of his touch. And you have to wonder... would Odion Ighalo have scored so many goals last year had he not had Deeney on his shoulder?

I suspect not.

While it is clearly Allardyce’s choice for his squad, there surely must be an argument to give Deeney a chance.

When you play at a so-called “unfashionable” club such as Watford, a call-up for England means so much and has to be earned the hard way.

Jamie Vardy’s form with title-winners Leicester keeps him in the public eye, Kane is at ambitious Tottenham, Daniel Sturridge will always be in a manager’s mind at Liverpool.

The bigger and more successful clubs dominate our attention — but there are hidden gems elsewhere.

Allardyce is a brave man, not afraid to make surprise decisions. Michail Antonio of West Ham has done ever so well this season and no one has scored more goals than him.

But nobody really expected him to be picked for the last England squad.