England have been dealt another injury blow ahead of Tuesday nights friendly against Euro 2025 hosts Switzerland at Bramall Lane.
Sarina Wiegman was already without the likes of Lauren James, Lauren Hemp, Niamh Charles and Ella Toone heading into this international break, resulting in debut call-ups for Ruby Mace and Laura Blindkilde Brown. However, the head coach confirmed that Chloe Kelly and Fran Kirby picked up injuries last time out against the USA.
Overall the squad is good, Wiegman said in a press conference on Monday morning. Unfortunately we have two injuries to Chloe Kelly and Fran Kirby so they will not be available.
The injuries were picked up during the game [against the USA]. Chloe [Kelly] is under concussion protocol as she had a knock, and unfortunately Fran [Kirby] picked up a calf injury.
Tuesdays clash represents a final opportunity for Wiegman to utilise the full extent of her squad without the pressure of competitive fixtures. When international football returns in the new year, the Lionesses will take on the likes of Portugal, Belgium and Spain in must-win Nations League group games in the build-up to the European Championships.
We will rotate a lot [against Switzerland], Wiegman continued. We will change [things].
As weve said the whole time, we play four friendlies in this period of October and November, which gives us an opportunity to try things out and play many players. Absolutely, we need this game to try out things and we still have seven months to go [until the Euros].
We want to get as much information as possible and develop our style of play to see where we are at the moment. Before a tournament, you want clarity and for everyone to know their role, but now youre trying out things and everyone is competing at the highest level, against opponents and also against each other.
England have won five of their seven previous games against Switzerland, drawing just twice. The two nations last met in a friendly back in June 2022 in the build up to the last Euros, a game Wiegman's side won 4-0.
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