England have confirmed that Harry Kane is not playing against Japan as a precaution after picking up a minor issue in training. They have confirmed that the Bayern Munich striker will remain with the squad for further assessment rather than returning to his club before the friendly at Wembley Stadium.

Marc Guehi will lead out the Three Lions for the first time in Kane’s absence, the 129th player to captain England, with Phil Foden said to be playing up front in place of England’s all-time record goalscorer. Anthony Gordon, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers also start in attacking areas against Japan, with Elliot Anderson and Kobbie Mainoo in midfield.

After sharing the team news across their social media accounts, England explained their captain’s absence. They said: “Harry Kane is rested tonight as a precaution, having picked up a minor issue in training, but remains with the squad receiving further assessment.

Jordan Henderson is also not in the squad despite starting on Friday night against Uruguay. England have now said the midfielder “returned to Brentford ahead of this evening’s fixture.”

Tuchel told ITV about Kane: “Minor injury out of nothing. It just happened; he had to step out of training yesterday after 15 minutes. No chance to be involved, not even today, so he’ll be further assessed now and will be at the stadium to watch. Asked whether it is serious, he added: “It’s serious enough to not be able to play (tonight), so we have to wait for further assessment.

On who will replace Kane, Tuchel said: “Foden plays on the nine. They play a back three, so it’s not a bad thing to drop a little back and ask the question to the back three – who steps out and who doesn’t? I encourage Phil to try stuff, to be creative and adventurous.”

Kane was one of 11 players in the squad who did not join up with their teammates until Saturday. Of those, only five, Anderson, Ezri Konsa, Gordon, Nico O’Reilly and Rogers start.

Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice withdrew from the squad, while Dan Burn and Dean Henderson are among the substitutes. Ben White starts at right-back after an eventful outing on Friday, with Jordan Pickford coming in for James Trafford as the goalkeeper.

England: 1 Jordan Pickford, 2 Ezri Konsa, 3 Nico O’Reilly, 4 Elliot Anderson, 5 Marc Guehi, 7 Cole Palmer, 8 Kobbie Mainoo, 9 Phil Foden, 12 Ben White, 14 Anthony Gordon, 15 Morgan Rogers

Substitutes: 6 Harry Maguire, 10 Jobe Bellingham, 11 Marcus Rashford, 13 Dean Henderson, 17 Dan Burn, 18 Dominic Solanke, 19 Harvey Barnes, 20 Jarrod Bowen, 21 James Garner, 22 James Trafford, 23 Jason Steele, 24 Djed Spence, 25 Tino Livramento, 26 Lewis Hall