Injury Comebacks: Fran Kirby and Keira Walsh return for England Women squad, but shock omission for Beth Mead
England Women's squad for the Women's Nations League clash against Belgium: Fran Kirby and Keira Walsh make their return from injury, but Beth Mead misses out The 25-player squad gears up for two matches, first at Leicester City and then in Leuven, Belgium
Fran Kirby and Keira Walsh have been included in Sarina Wiegman's 25-player squad for England's Women's Nations League matches against Belgium this month. Kirby, who plays as a forward for Chelsea, has recovered from a knee injury sustained in February, while Walsh, who represents Barcelona, is back after missing the matches against Scotland and the Netherlands in September due to a calf problem.
Striker Beth Mead, who made her Arsenal comeback on Sunday after a knee injury last November, assisting the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa, has surprisingly been left out of the squad. Meanwhile, Manchester United midfielder Grace Clinton and Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating have earned their first call-ups to the senior squad after their exceptional performances in the new Women's Super League season, having previously represented the England Women's U23s squad.
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Beth Mead's return changed the game as Arsenal beat Aston Villa
Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben-Moy returns after withdrawing from the September squad with an injury.
Katie Robinson, Jordan Nobbs, Laura Coombs, and Lucy Staniforth have withdrawn from the team.
Wiegman's team will proceed with their Group A1 matches, starting with a game against Belgium at Leicester's King Power Stadium on Friday next week. They will then face Belgium again, this time away, four days later. The team began their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Scotland and a 2-1 defeat against the Netherlands in September.
England squad:
Goalkeepers: The goalkeepers include Mary Earps from Manchester United, Hannah Hampton from Chelsea, Khiara Keating from Manchester City, and Ellie Roebuck from Manchester City.Defenders: The defenders consist of Millie Bright from Chelsea, Lucy Bronze from Barcelona, Jess Carter from Chelsea, Niamh Charles from Chelsea, Alex Greenwood from Manchester City, Maya Le Tissier from Manchester United, Esme Morgan from Manchester City, Lucy Parker from Aston Villa, and Lotte Wubben-Moy from Arsenal.
Midfielders: Grace Clinton (on loan from Manchester United to Tottenham), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Katie Zelem (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona).
Forwards: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Jess Park (Manchester City), Alessia Russo (Arsenal).
