Leah Williamson leaves England camp and will miss USA showdown

England captain Leah Williamson will miss England’s Wembley showdown with World Cup holders the USA on Friday and the match against the Czech Republic on Tuesday following assessment on an injury sustained in training.

Williamson, who was seen in a boot and on crutches at England’s training base in south-west London, was confirmed as having returned to Arsenal for her rehabilitation, with details of her injury undisclosed. She joins Alessia Russo and Lucy Parker, who have also left the camp through injury.

The forward Chloe Kelly, who scored the winner against Germany in the final of the Euros in the summer, said: “Leah’s a great leader and of course we’ll miss her. We have such great depth in our squad and such great strength in our squad. There are so many great leaders with experience. So, it’s all about coming together in these moments when you do lose a player like Leah and supporting Leah now in her rehab.”

The Lionesses are back at the hotel and training base in Teddington that hosted them during the historic summer and Kelly is hoping that can inspire some good memories. “When we came back into the Lensbury it literally felt like we were back and that we’d only been away for a few days,” she said.

“I feel like our mindset has changed on to the World Cup. We had such a great summer and that gives you so much positive energy around the group, everyone is just excited to learn and excited to get back on the pitch together. We had so much fun off the pitch too, it was brilliant, we just enjoyed each other’s company and we had great times together as a team. So coming back here brings back so many memories.”

The manager, Sarina Wiegman, has spoken about a need to look forward to the World Cup in Australia and New