Campbell taking nothing for granted on the road to Oz

Megan Campbell has had more than enough painful setbacks in her career to take nothing for granted.

The Liverpool defender is enjoying an injury-free campaign in the Women's Super League and is thankful for it. That is a privilege the 30-year-old has not enjoyed for large chunks of her career.

Last February she returned to the Ireland squad after a hellish two-and-half-year absence, a hiatus that would make even the toughest characters question their international future.

Plagued by knee and ankle injuries, Campbell had to work very hard to claw her way back into the fold. Now it's impossible to imagine she won't be on the plane to Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup this July.

Indeed her phenomenal long throw-ins may prove an invaluable asset in the group games against Australia, Canada and Nigeria, something Campbell acknowledged when talking to the media from Ireland's Marbella training base ahead of Wednesday's friendly against China.

"It's nice to be on the pitch every weekend and flying fit. I'm thankful for that."

"We'd be silly to not try and take advantage of the opportunity we have," she said.

"Obviously you’ve got the likes of Louise Quinn and Diane Caldwell who are giants in the air. With them getting on the end of a throw-in it’s something we should work on and take advantage of against opponents. It is something we will work on in this camp and probably continuously going into competition.

"Hopefully, depending on who is on that plane… it might be a story but we’ll see.

"It's nice to be on the pitch every weekend and flying fit. I’m thankful for that. I’m still working hard to maintain it but all is going good. I’m enjoying my football at the minute."

Another motivating factor for Campbell is the opportunity