Harry Kane will begin the Champions League final on the bench, according to the Star.
Tottenham face Liverpool in Madrid on Saturday aiming to win their first trophy since the League Cup success of 2008.
Kane hasn’t played since the quarter-final first leg against Manchester City when he damaged ankle ligaments.
The striker has been back in training for the last week or so, but there are still doubts as to whether he will be fit enough to start this weekend.
And the Star claims a decision has already been made: Kane will begin the game among the substitutes.
Mauricio Pochettino has said the 25-year-old will be assessed before the final as normal.
“In a final, the hero does not always come from the starters,” said the Spurs boss. “People come from the bench to be heroes. We’ll take the best decision to try to win.
“You know very well that if you win, football is fantastic. If not, you’re going to kill me.
“But it’s only a decision – not a good or bad decision. But I understand if we do lose…sh*t decision!”
Writing in his column for the Sun, former Newcastle and England striker Alan Shearer suggested Kane shouldn’t start against Liverpool.
Shearer wrote: “Pochettino will have a decision to make about their main man Harry Kane — but I would not start him.
“He hasn’t played a game for seven weeks.
“And Tottenham managed all right without him at City and Ajax.
“Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Fernando Llorente have all stepped up.
“So I would keep Kane on the bench and maybe bring him on at some stage.”
Ex-Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas thinks Kane will start even if it isn’t the wisest of decisions.
“Harry Kane will start the Champions League final in Madrid on Saturday,” Jenas wrote in the Mail. “I just can’t envisage him not walking out with the team at the Wanda Metropolitano as part of the starting XI.
“However, I don’t think he should start. There is no way he will be 100 per cent fit. By which I mean his conditioning and sharpness will not be at their best. He may be able to run unrestricted, but that’s not the same.”
If Harry Winks starts in midfield with Moussa Sissoko, Pochettino will have to make a tough decision and drop one of his star attackers – it could even be Lucas Moura.