Sports
Why ‘floppy ankles’ make Harry Kane the world’s best striker, but also get him injured
Achilles had his heel, Harry Kane has his ankles — even the greatest have physiological limits.
Except those flaws are often what make them great.
Greek mythology tells it that Achilles, a Greek war hero, was held by the back of his foot when dipped in the River Styx, separating the lands of the living and the dead, as a child. This turned him invincible, barring the spot which carries his name, and (how’s your luck?) where he was killed after being struck there by an arrow.
Since 2016-17, ankle injuries have bedevilled Kane’s career on seven different occasions. He tore ligaments there in 2018-19, and combined has missed a full league season’s worth of games through those issues.
And yet, the same physiology that predisposes him to these ankle problems explains his world-class ball-striking and outstanding goalscoring records: the England team’s all-time top scorer, one of only three players with more than 200 Premier League goals, the best debut season (in terms of goalscoring) in Bundesliga history.
The Athletic spoke to football biomechanist Archit Navandar to understand what he calls Kane’s “floppy ankles”, and why they make him so good.
First, a lesson in physiological and biomechanics.
The human ankle is a complex thing, the point where the shin bone (tibia), calf bone (fibula) and talus (heel) meet. Scientists call it a ‘hinged synovial joint’ because movement primarily occurs in one plane (direction). In this case, up and down. The ankle can flex the foot towards the body (dorsiflexion) and extend away from it (plantarflexion) but with limited rotation. Synovial refers to the fluid in the joint, which aids movement.
“We don’t have the same ability that we have with our hands that we have with our feet,” says Navandar. “We don’t have that same dexterity. It’s very easy to rotate our wrists. An ankle, to have the same level of dexterity, you need to train. Rotation is very, very difficult, because the stiffer your ankle is, the more control you have in your kick.”
Watchers of Premier League football on UK broadcasts will know analyst Ally McCoist’s fondness of saying a player has “picked the wrong (golf) club” when they mishit a pass. The golfing analogy serves to describe how different passes (and shots) need specific amounts of power/spin and different trajectories. To change the ‘golf club’, players “change the orientation (of the foot),” says Navandar. “A small modification can completely change my surface area of contact.”
Navandar says Kane does it better and more often than most, which makes him unpredictable.
“He gets a lot of power in his kicks but with seemingly no backlift,” says Navandar. “He doesn’t bend his knees as much, it’s not a prominent knee flexion before the kick. There are kicks where there is hip extension, but it’s not prominent. What you want to do when you kick is to increase the surface area of contact to help with maximum transfer of energy from the foot to the ball, because there is going to be some energy loss.”
Here’s a comparison of Kane’s (lower) backlift to that of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
Navandar explains that kicking is split into “four phases”. It starts with backswing, as the leg draws away, then it cocks (the knee bends while the leg starts to move forward again). The leg accelerates towards the ball, strikes it, then follows through.
“The initial flexion before you release, it’s a whip-like motion,” when looked at from side on, says Navandar. “What Kane does, in the acceleration part, is not (be) rigid. This changes a little bit, he is able to control the movements. It happens subconsciously, automatically.”
To simplify: as Kane is swinging his leg, he changes the orientation of his ankle to hit the ball differently. Navandar likens it to a tennis player altering their serve at the final moment.
Here is an example of a side-footed Kane goal against Manchester City when he was at Tottenham Hotspur. He shapes initially to strike the ball with the laces, then opens out his foot to finish with the instep.
It is not a clean finish, with Kane striking the top of the ball so it travels down to hit the turf on its way to the net. Even so, City’s Ederson could only get fingertips to it. “These movements are very difficult to see with the naked eye,” says Navandar.
Navandar explains that most players keep the ankle locked once the leg has been pulled back to shoot (cocking). This is because stiffer ankles reduce energy loss, which adds power. Typically, as players shoot, the ankle stays with the toes pointing to the floor (plantarflexion) to maximise the surface area hitting the ball. Kane, though, will move the foot by rotating the ankle, changing his finish.
To compensate for power loss, Navandar highlights Kane’s arm on his non-kicking side, often raised as he strikes (see pictures above): “The power that he gets is mainly from extending his arm out. It’s like a spring action using the entire body.” It is a similar motion to how sprinters throw the arm of their take-off leg backwards as they fly out the blocks.
All this is a biomechanical analysis of praise that has surrounded Kane for years: he has one of the widest finishing libraries in the game, is never fussy about how he scores his goals, and can score them with either boot. “I’m comfortable with both (feet), I don’t feel like I’m losing anything,” he told UK broadcaster BT Sport in 2018.
He ranks fourth for goals in Europe’s top-four leagues since the start of the 2019-20 season. Only Haaland (164), Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski (both 135) — Kane should face the latter tonight as Bayern visit Barcelona in the Champions League — have more than his 132.
GO DEEPER
Analysing Europe’s top four leagues: How does football in England, Italy, Spain and Germany compare?
“He has a fantastic footballing brain,” says Navandar, “but also that he’s able to adapt his game and his technique to have this sort of flexibility and mobility in the lower leg.”
Kane’s skill set is a reflection of his academy days. A late bloomer, never physically outstanding (in speed or size), with four loan spells at lower-division clubs before he broke into the Tottenham first team at age 20, he learnt to compensate.
⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽
All 36 of Harry Kane’s Bundesliga goals this season 🎥
▶️ https://t.co/JG8Ac4ItlW#MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/XjIHcWLESW
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) May 19, 2024
Kane observed how former Spurs team-mate Jermain Defoe would take shots quickly because of the speed of Premier League defenders, and his favourite finish is across the goalkeeper after taking a touch to get the ball out in front of his feet. It is as iconic as Kane’s trademark penalty. He generates such force in those shots that he typically rolls onto his left ankle in the follow-through. “It’s part of the motion,” says Navandar.
The only constant in Kane’s career has been change, evolving as a striker and finisher. He showed against Arsenal’s David Raya in the Champions League last season that he is capable of taking penalties where he watches the goalkeeper and then goes the other way to their dive; he used to take penalties without regarding the ’keeper.
If there were any doubts about his penalty-taking after the vital miss against France late in England’s 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat, Kane has quashed them. He has scored all 21 spot kicks since, the longest consecutive scoring streak of his career, including a hat-trick of them in Bayern’s 9-2 Champions League win against Dinamo Zagreb in September. Those three goals made him the leading English scorer in Champions League history, overtaking Wayne Rooney.
Those two floppy ankles have also brought seven Golden Boots for club and country.
(Top photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Philip Rivers’ return to the NFL has many former quarterbacks over the age of 40 wondering if they could turn back the clock and perform at a similarly high level.
If anything, they should at least take note of what Rivers did in the first half for the Indianapolis Colts against the San Francisco 49ers.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) passes as San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Keion White (56) applies pressure during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 semifinalist put on a vintage performance in the first half against the 49ers, delighting NFL fans who tuned into the game on Monday night.
He started the night coming out to cheers from Colts fans at Lucas Oil Stadium – his family also in attendance. The Colts went nine plays, 72 yards and Rivers found wide receiver Alec Pierce for a 20-yard touchdown. Indianapolis jumped out to a 7-0 lead.
NFL SUSPENDS STEELERS’ DK METCALF FOR 2 GAMES AFTER ALTERCATION WITH LIONS FAN
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) passes against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
San Francisco scored on back-to-back drives thanks to Brock Purdy hooking up with Demarcus Robinson, the special teams forcing a turnover, and then Purdy throwing a touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey. When Rivers got the ball back, he drove down the field again.
The Colts scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Pierce to end a 12-play, 66-yard drive. The game was tied with a lot of time to go in the first half.
Indianapolis trailed 24-17 at the half. But the attention was on Rivers.
He was 14-of-21 with 175 passing yards and two touchdown passes. The last time he threw multiple touchdown passes in the regular season was on Dec. 20, 2020, against the Houston Texans.
Rivers came back to the Colts last week at the age of 44. He had a solid performance against the Seattle Seahawks for someone who hadn’t thrown a ball in nearly five years.
Bundle FOX One and FOX Nation to stream the entire FOX Nation library, plus live FOX News, Sports, and Entertainment at our lowest price of the year. The offer ends on Jan. 4, 2026. (Fox One; Fox Nation)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Now, the Colts’ playoff hopes rest on his shoulders.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
The world of college football may be awash in uncertainty, but the last several weeks have proven one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Nobody runs like Notre Dame.
When the Irish got jobbed by the College Football Playoff committee and insanely were left out of the CFP, they refused to play another game this season.
Notre Dame ran from the Pop Tarts Bowl.
Then came Monday’s announcement that Notre Dame no longer will regularly play USC, essentially ending a 100-year-old rivalry because the Irish didn’t want to change the dates of the game.
Notre Dame ran from the Trojans.
Call them the Fightin’ Chickens, a once-proud Irish program that demands acquiescence or it will take its ball and go home.
The Irish could have played USC at the beginning of the season, but refused. The Irish could have kept the rivalry alive with a scheduling tweak that would have helped both teams, but refused.
Lots of folks are going to blame USC and coach Lincoln Riley for butchering a Knute Rockne-born tradition that accounted for 78 straight games, not counting 2020, the COVID-19 year. That’s wrong. Nobody has been more critical of Riley than this space, but he’s not the bad guy here.
Anybody who felt the buzz around the CFP first-round games last weekend would attest, this is where USC needs to be playing. If the Trojans truly want to return to greatness, being selected for the CFP is the goal. Not beating Notre Dame. Not even beating UCLA. It’s all about the tournament.
USC needs to put itself in the best possible position to be playing on a mid-December weekend, and that means no longer being the only Big Ten school to play a major nonconference game in the middle of the season or later.
The schedule has become tough enough. The Trojans don’t need to make it tougher with the kind of game nobody else in their conference is playing.
They need Notre Dame in August, not in late October or mid-November.
But, as it turns out, Notre Dame believes it doesn’t need USC at all.
The Irish signed a deal with the CFP that stipulates, beginning next year, if they are ranked in the top 12, they are guaranteed a playoff berth. They can get in the playoffs without risking a loss to the Trojans. They can play it safe and schedule easy and back right in.
USC doesn’t have that luxury. USC isn’t guaranteed squat. USC has a 2026 schedule that even without Notre Dame is a nightmare.
USC and Notre Dame prepare to play in a packed Notre Dame Stadium in October 2023.
(Michael Caterina / Associated Press)
Home games against Ohio State and Oregon. Road games at Indiana and Penn State.
USC doesn’t need a midseason game against Notre Dame making that road even harder.
Jennifer Cohen, the USC athletic director, said as much in a recently posted open letter to the Trojans community.
“USC is the only team in the Big Ten to play a nonconference road game after Week 4 in either of the past two seasons,” she wrote. “USC is also the only team to play a nonconference game after Week 4 in both seasons.”
Trojans fans love the rivalry. The college football world loves the rivalry. It’s Anthony Davis, it’s Carson Palmer, it’s the Bush Push, it has won Heismans and cemented championships.
But times have changed. The landscape is evolving. Everything that college football once represented is up for debate. Even the most venerable of traditions is subject to adjustments.
That’s what the Trojans wanted to do. Not eliminate, but adjust. But Notre Dame football adjusts for no one.
It was indeed a travesty that the two-loss Irish, winners of their last 10 games by double digits, did not get a spot in the national tournament. By the end of the season they were arguably one of the four best teams in the country. They easily could have captured the crown.
Tulane? James Madison? Are you kidding me? As the opening games revealed — the two AAA teams were outscored 92-44 — there is no place for Cinderellas in the CFP.
But that was no reason for Notre Dame to back out of the bowls completely, sacrificing the final game in the careers of the Irish players who will not be going to the NFL just to make a whining point that resonated with nobody.
And, besides, there’s another way Notre Dame could have been a lock for the playoffs.
Join a conference, fool!
By keeping the football team out of the otherwise Irish-infected Atlantic Coast Conference, Notre Dame is raking in big TV bucks that it doesn’t have to share. But this means the Irish are subject to the whims of a committee that could, and did, unconscionably leave them out.
Notre Dame always wants it both ways. It wants its independence, but also wants to dictate a schedule filled with conference-affiliated teams.
In demanding that their game be played in August or not at all, USC finally called Notre Dame’s bluff.
And the Irish did what they recently have done best.
They ran.
The team that initially will replace USC on the Notre Dame schedule?
It’s Brigham Young, the same team that Notre Dame snubbed in the Pop Tarts Bowl.
Put that in your toaster and cook it.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Dallas Cowboys’ Super Bowl drought increased to 30 years as the team was eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday and then lost to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
The Cowboys showed tremendous heart during the season after the defense was gutted when star pass rusher Micah Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers. Dallas picked up big wins over the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants, as well as a tie with the Packers.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones before a game against the Minnesota Vikings at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 14, 2025. (Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)
Ultimately, the Cowboys lost their last three games and found themselves on the outside looking in on the playoffs once more. Dallas dropped to 6-8-1 after the loss to Los Angeles, and team owner Jerry Jones opened up about some of the team’s shortcomings.
“I really am better when I’m getting my a– kicked than I am when I’m having success,” he said, via The Athletic. “I’ve seen some of the decisions I’ve made work.
“We get one team that gets to go to that Super Bowl every year. Two that get to go to those (conference championship) playoff games. I’m looking forward next year to getting back in that championship game and maybe beyond. And then I’ll be right at the top of the list of how long it’s been since you’ve been to one. And that’s how you do it. Right at the top. And this will all go away.”
SHEDEUR SANDERS PUSHES BACK ON QUESTIONS ABOUT COACHING DECISIONS: ‘COME ON, MAN’
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) prepares to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Jones did take away some positivity from the 2025 season. He acknowledged the team “underachieved” but there were some things that the team could carry forward into 2026.
Particularly, Jones said he was impressed with how Dak Prescott played during the year.
Prescott has 4,175 passing yards and 28 touchdown passes this season. He’s leading the NFL in completions (378) and passing attempts (552). Both George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the season.
“I am pleased with what we have in Dak, very pleased going forward,” he said, via the team’s website. “Nothing we’ve done so far this season gives me anything but optimism about going forward at one of the key, if not the key position.”
Bundle FOX One and FOX Nation to stream the entire FOX Nation library, plus live FOX News, Sports, and Entertainment at our lowest price of the year. The offer ends on Jan. 4, 2026. (Fox One; Fox Nation)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Dallas has the Washington Commanders and the New York Giants left on its schedule.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Kansas powers through Davidson, securing 10th win of season
Is Kentucky basketball looking for a mid-year addition at backup point guard?
‘One suicide is too many;’ Man runs across Louisiana to raise awareness for veteran, teen suicide
Opinion: Maine must build its way out of the housing crisis
Maryland commission approves half of BGE’s $152.3 million funding request to support rate increase
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
20% of NYC mayor-elect Mamdani transition appointees have anti-Zionist ties: ADL
Exclusive: Former MEP Kaili doubles down on ‘Belgiangate’
‘Music makes everything better’: A Texas doctor spins vinyl to give patients relief
Video: Who Is Trying to Replace Planned Parenthood?
Comer summons Minnesota officials as House probes massive social services fraud
-
Iowa1 week agoAddy Brown motivated to step up in Audi Crooks’ absence vs. UNI
-
Iowa1 week agoHow much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals
-
Maine7 days agoElementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine
-
Maryland1 week agoFrigid temperatures to start the week in Maryland
-
New Mexico6 days agoFamily clarifies why they believe missing New Mexico man is dead
-
South Dakota1 week agoNature: Snow in South Dakota
-
Detroit, MI1 week ago‘Love being a pedo’: Metro Detroit doctor, attorney, therapist accused in web of child porn chats
-
Health1 week ago‘Aggressive’ new flu variant sweeps globe as doctors warn of severe symptoms