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Sarina Wiegman has named her England squad for the Women’s World Cup.
With Fran Kirby already ruled out due to a knee problem, Wiegman had a number of injury issues to contend with before picking her Lionesses for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Bethany England has been recalled to replace the injured Beth Mead, who has not been able to recover from her ACL surgery in time to travel Down Under.
The Tottenham forward has bagged 12 goals in as many games for the North London club this season but missed out on the most recent England fixtures.
Captain Leah Williamson is also a notable absence for the Lionesses, the 26-year-old ruptured her ACL in the Women’s Super League defeat to Manchester United in April.
Chelsea’s Millie Bright is the player to take the place of the Arsenal defender having been in recovery for a knee problem of her own.
Manchester United’s Katie Zelem also returns to the squad, while Lucy Bronze and Jordan Nobbs have also staked their claim despite picking up injuries in the latter stages of the WSL season.
Jess Park, Maya Le Tissier and Emily Ramsey have been named on standby.
Wiegman’s message
Wiegman has issued a rallying call to her players ahead of their World Cup campaign but warns that they must be at their best if they are to replicate their success at Euro 2022.
She said: “I have huge belief in this squad and we’re very fortunate to be selecting a fantastic group of players to travel to Australia.
“We know we will face tough challenges from strong teams, and we will have to be competitive from the first match on July 22.
“We will do everything to be at our very best again this summer.”
“It is important the players get some well-deserved time to rest and recover over the next few weeks before we start the final preparations to get them ready.
“We learned a lot of positive lessons about how to get the players fit, fresh and ready from the Euros last summer and we know what we have to do to make sure we hit the ground running in the right way when the tournament starts.”
England’s World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City).
Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal).
Midfielders: Laura Coombs (Manchester City), Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United).
Forwards: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Bethany England (Tottenham), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Katie Robinson (Brighton), Alessia Russo (Manchester United).
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