Fran Kirby is the latest England player to be ruled out of the Women’s World Cup, with Chelsea saying the forward will be absent “for a significant period”.
The club said Kirby needed an operation on a knee injury sustained in February. England’s captain Leah Williamson is out with an ACL injury, Sarina Wiegman has said Beth Mead needs a miracle to be fit and Kirby – another important member of the team that won Euro 2022 – will not be able to travel to Australia for the tournament in July. “Following an injury sustained during our Continental League Cup semi-final against West Ham, Fran has been reviewed at Cobham by the Chelsea medical team,” Chelsea said in a statement. “Following that review and further discussion with a specialist, Fran is set to undergo surgery and is expected to be sidelined for a significant period.” Sign up to Moving the Goalposts Informative, passionate, entertaining.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of women’s football now. after newsletter promotion Kirby tweeted: “I have been trying my best to not have to undergo this but unfortunately my progress has been limited due to the issue in my knee.