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• Kane to miss Bundesliga finale after seeking treatment on back injury

  Harry Kane will miss Bayern Munich's final game of the Bundesliga season after leaving Germany to undergo treatment on a back problem.

  Kane has scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign in Bavaria, though he will finish yet another season without silverware, with Bayer Leverkusen having clinched their first top-flight title.

  He will end 2023-24 five goals adrift of Robert Lewandowski's single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20, after sustaining a back injury.

  Ahead of Saturday's trip to Hoffenheim, departing Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel revealed Kane had been struggling before the second leg of their Champions League semi-final loss to Real Madrid.

  "Harry is being treated by his personal doctor and he is not here anymore," Tuchel said. 

  "He won't be with us. In Madrid it was already touch and go."

  Kane missed Bayern's 2-0 win over Wolfsburg in their penultimate game of 2023-24 last week, with Lovro Zvonarek and Leon Goretzka on target in his absence.

  The news will cause concern for Gareth Southgate, who is set to name his preliminary England squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday.

  The Three Lions' final squad for the tournament – which is being held in Kane's new home of Germany – will be revealed after they face Iceland in a friendly on June 7.  

• Klopp: Premier League cannot continue with current version of VAR

  Departing Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp would vote to remove VAR in its current guise from the Premier League, though he also believes officiating standards are a problem.

  On Wednesday, it was revealed that Wolves – who have been on the wrong end of several contentious decisions this season – had tabled a motion to abolish VAR from the top flight.

  The club listed several "negative consequences" brought on by the technology's introduction, including an impact on in-stadium atmospheres, diminished accountability of match officials and its role in furthering "completely nonsensical" allegations of corruption from fans. 

  The role of VAR is now set to be discussed at an annual shareholders' meeting on June 6, though Wolves' motion is thought unlikely to garner the 14 votes needed to pass. 

  Liverpool were on the wrong end of perhaps the most high-profile VAR error this season, when Darren England mistakenly cleared an incorrect offside call on a Luis Diaz goal against Tottenham.

  Liverpool face Wolves in their final game under Klopp on Sunday, and the Reds boss believes they are right to say VAR is not working in its current guise.

  "I don't think they're voting against VAR, I think they'll vote about how it gets used, because that's definitely not right. I understand that," Klopp said.

  "In the way they do it, I would vote against it, because these people are not able to use it properly.

  "I do not think VAR is the problem but the way we use it is the problem. You cannot change the people, it's clear. You need them. So yeah, I would vote for scrapping VAR."

  Meanwhile, it was also announced on Friday that midfielder Thiago Alcantara will leave Liverpool when his contract expires in June, after four injury-hit years at Anfield.

  Thiago has been limited to just 68 Premier League appearances throughout his time with the Reds, including one match this campaign. 

  "Before he even came to Liverpool I believed that if you really love football it would make a lot of sense if you watched Thiago Alcantara play," Klopp said of the Spaniard.

  "Technically, he is so, so good, a talent who could play in any team in the world, and it was a privilege to have him with us."

• Leeds' belief never wavered as Wembley beckons

  Ethan Ampadu said Leeds United's players never let their belief waver despite a poor end to their Championship campaign, with a trip to Wembley now coming up.

  Leeds will face either Southampton or West Brom in the play-off final on May 26 after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road on Thursday.

  The Whites endured a miserable end to their campaign, losing 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers before going down at home to Southampton on the final day, as Ipswich Town claimed automatic promotion behind Leicester City.

  But after their emphatic defeat of the Canaries, who they drew with 0-0 in the first leg, Ampadu claimed Leeds never lost their way.

  "Towards the end of the season there was a lot of talk about how we were playing, how we weren't on the front foot, how we weren't aggressive or clinical," he told Sky Sports.

  "But we always had our belief that on our day, when we are firing, we can be hard for anyone to play against.

  "When the front four, five, six play like that, they make the job of us defenders a lot easier.

  "Whoever we play in the final it's going to be a hard game but to go in like this, to put in a performance like this, we can take momentum and confidence into it.

  "The fans were second to none and we enjoyed their support – now we are going to prepare for the big one."

  Georginio Rutter scored one and set up another in the rout, and he put the onus on Leeds to replicate the same level at Wembley.

  "It's incredible. Today we go to Wembley," he said.

  "We played a good game. I'm happy, everybody is happy. One more game and we will see.

  "We played very good. 4-0 is a clean sheet. Today, we were mature. It's a very good performance from the team.

  "I want to try my best and help the team. If we play like this [at the final], we have a good chance but we have to play like this."