Injured Bronze out of Barca’s Champions League clash with Chelsea

Barcelona’s England defender Lucy Bronze will miss their upcoming Champions League semi-final second leg against Chelsea due to injury.

The 31-year-old limped off the pitch during the second half of the first leg on Saturday, which Barca won 1-0 thanks to Caroline Graham Hansen’s goal.

The Catalan club have now confirmed in a statement on Twitter that Bronze will be unavailable for the return fixture at the Camp Nou on Thursday after undergoing arthroscopy on her right knee.

Bronze’s injury provides a fresh concern for England manager Sarina Wiegman, with both Beth Mead and captain Leah Williamson set to miss this summer’s World Cup.

However, after Saturday’s game Barca manager Jonatan Giraldez provided an upbeat assessment of Bronze’s injury.

He said: “She felt something in her knee in the beginning.

“But in the end right now she’s fine. At the moment we made the substitution the feeling was bad, but right now the feeling she has is good.”