Gary Neville admits he is 'worried' about Harry Kane after the England captain suffered an ankle injury in Monday's opening World Cup win over Iran.
Kane shipped a heavy challenge from Morteza Pouraliganji in the 48th minute of England's 6-2 victory, though despite appearing to be in considerable pain he played on for close to half an hour in Doha.
The Tottenham striker underwent a scan on Wednesday and Three Lions staff believe he has not suffered major damage, meaning there is still optimism that he could feature in Friday's clash with USA.
Yet Neville is concerned by the prospect of England lining up without their star man, insisting there is no sufficient replacement for him in attack.
'I am a little bit worried, they are being a bit coy on it,' he said on ITV Sport.
'I don’t think Gareth is a manager who wants to play mind games. I am worried about it. There is no replacement for him directly, no one can replace the quality he has.
'You saw the cross the other day. [Callum] Wilson and [Marcus] Rashford are good when there is space in behind, but when there is a deep defence they do struggle with their back to goal, they don’t have the same quality.
'We have seen what Kane has done at tournament over the past few years, his assists are as good as his goals. It would be a big concern in leadership and in quality.'
Should Kane miss Friday's encounter with USA, or even any further fixtures at the tournament, Neville believes the blame will lie with England boss Gareth Southgate for not taking him off sooner.
'I am watching with manager’s head on,' he continued, 'I am thinking this boy has got a history of problems with his ankles. He played on, he wasn’t right. I am thinking, he has to come off now.
'He had 27 minutes running on that ankle. Some players need saving from themselves. He is thinking there are goals in this game against Iran. He is thinking I want to stay on. You don’t need to risk Harry anymore.
'I have written about this competition prior to coming here, I am not sure when they are playing proper teams who will get goals other than Harry Kane. I see that as avoidable. I think that is on the manager.
'The player wants to be the top scorer again so will act in a selfish way, he needed saving from himself there.'
Neville's co-pundit Graeme Souness agreed with his verdict, adding: 'He properly rocked that ankle, he probably had a bleed there, he played on for another 27 minutes.
'He should have been off immediately and had it in ice and in an elevated position. Immediately he needed saving from himself.'