England manager Sarina Wiegman said she was “positive” that Fran Kirby would recover from his recent bout of form, dismissing suggestions that the midfielder’s lack of playing time was a cause for concern.
Kirby took part in the warm-up before the Lionesses’ 7-2 friendly win over Austria on Friday night, but the Sunday Football Association confirmed she had withdrawn from the squad for further evaluation of a “minor knee injury”. Admitted.
It’s a further blow for Kirby, who missed out on the Lionesses World Cup last summer after undergoing knee surgery due to long-standing problems, and wore an England shirt for the first time in more than a year in October.
Asked about Kirby’s injury history and limited starts for the club, Wiegmann said: “At Chelsea, I don’t think that’s always the reason for her being injured or unavailable or not starting.” .
🗞 Fran Kirby has withdrawn from the squad and will return to Chelsea for further assessment of a minor knee injury.
Rapid recovery, @Franc Kirby!
— Lionesses (@Lioneses) February 25, 2024
“There are also technical and tactical decisions. She was able to accommodate us and was going to start, so it’s a shame she couldn’t make it. We’ll see how the situation develops in the future. We’ll see. I hope she gets on the pitch soon and I’m positive about that.”
Kirby returned to Chelsea, but Wigman said he had “a bit of inflammation in his knee”. She has minor injuries, but she didn’t want to take any risks, so she’s been checked out at the club and she doesn’t expect any major injuries.”
The 30-year-old started every match for England as they won Euro 2022, scoring two goals and providing three assists, but Millie Farrow later revealed that he had been suffering from a debilitating fatigue-related illness in the months prior to his selection. She admitted in her book, released last year, that if it happened again, she would have to reconsider her playing career.
She told the former Chelsea striker: She said, “I think the competitive spirit in me is like, “Let’s try again,” but then you get to a point where you think, “I can’t keep doing this.”
Kirby also missed an extended period of the 2019-20 season with heart disease pericarditis, and during last February’s Conti Cup final, a knee problem that had plagued him since he was a pre-teen flared up again.
She had hoped to avoid surgery, but doctors were ultimately unable to treat what was diagnosed as a tripartite patella, in which two pieces of bone are attached by tissue but not attached to the patella. I decided that was the best way.
After missing last summer’s World Cup finals with England, Kirby made an impressive return to international action in October, coming on as a substitute in the Lionesses’ 1-0 win over Belgium in the Nations League.
She played in 14 Women’s Super League games and five Champions League games this season, and despite limited appearances, she scored three goals and provided two assists in all competitions.
It doesn’t help Kirby’s case that competition for playing time is increasingly fierce for both club and country.
On Friday, 20-year-old Grace Clinton scored in the first of England’s two international friendlies in Spain, highlighting her move to the first team against Italy next Tuesday night. I introduced myself.
Midfielder Keira Walsh welcomed the challenge, saying: We had four of our under-23 players training with us yesterday and they came and took our shirts off.
“We don’t want to be predictable in how we play, we don’t want to be predictable in who’s going to play. I think that’s what’s really special about this England team. There’s so much depth in the team, Anyone can play at any time.”
