In May 2012, Will Keane and Harry Kane lined up together as strikers for England Under-19s in a European Championship qualifier against Switzerland. At that moment, few would have predicted it would be Kane heading into a FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final against Argentina this week — and Keane searching for a new club.

"I'd never had any setbacks at that point," Keane told BBC Sport. "When you're young, you're fearless. The whole trajectory of my career was up. I made my senior debut for Manchester United. We won the Youth Cup. I was doing well for England. Everything was taking off."

A knee injury that changed everything

Late in that qualifier against Switzerland, Keane suffered a serious knee injury. He would not play again for 16 months — a spell during which Kane completed loan moves to Norwich and Leicester before breaking into the Tottenham first team.

"That first injury was at a crucial time," Keane said. "I had my foot in the door. If the injury had happened a couple of years later, I might have been an established squad player. When I had it, I missed 16 months at a crucial part of the transition from reserves to seniors."

The setbacks continued to pile up. In February 2016, Keane tore his groin in Manchester United's FA Cup tie at Shrewsbury. That injury opened the door for 17-year-old Marcus Rashford, who came off the bench in the UEFA Europa League tie against Midtjylland three days later, scored twice, and then added two more in the Premier League fixture with Arsenal.

"I went to America for an operation, landed in Philadelphia, turned my phone on and saw he scored two more," Keane recalled. At 23, he understood that day that his time at Manchester United was over.

Further misfortune awaited at Hull, where Keane suffered a second ACL injury in just his sixth appearance — ruling him out for 14 months as the club were relegated. "It was crushing," he said. "I missed the whole season, and we got relegated. A lot of the young lads still got good moves — Harry Maguire went to Leicester, Andy Robertson went to Liverpool, Sam Clucas to Swansea."

A new mental approach

It was not until Keane arrived at Wigan that he tackled the psychological toll those repeated injuries had taken. He began working with a sports psychologist who had no prior background in football, focusing on positive intentions, visualisation, and what Keane describes as a more "spiritual" approach.

"I wish I'd had that when I was younger, especially with the setbacks I had early on," he said. "I was around the first team at United, then I got the injury, had a few loans in the Championship where I didn't do very well and I started to doubt myself. Wigan catapulted me."

He now wonders whether that self-doubt may have contributed to the cycle of injuries. "If I was in the right frame of mind, maybe one of those bad injuries wouldn't even have happened."

Kane's certainty — and Keane's search

Now 33, with 335 senior appearances and 85 goals across eight clubs, Keane is spending time at Champneys Springs in Leicestershire as part of the PFA's 12-week pre-season camp — a programme now in its third year, designed to give out-of-contract players a structured environment and exposure to clubs.

He remains confident about his prospects. "There's been a few chats. I'm sure they're aware of me," he said. He also has not ruled out adding to his five Republic of Ireland senior caps, having played youth football for England before representing Ireland — the reverse path of his twin brother Michael.

Of Kane, Keane speaks with clear admiration. "He's so sure of himself, because he's put the work in. He knows he's a complete striker. He might miss one, but he's not going to shy away from it. He's not arrogant — he's just got the confidence that sets top players apart."

While Kane prepares to face Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final, Keane is charting his own quiet comeback — proof that two careers, which once ran in parallel, can end up in very different places.