England Dealt Major Blow As Duo Miss Training, Including Chelsea Star

England and Serina Wiegman have been dealt a big blow as both Millie Bright and Jordan Nobbs were absent from today’s training session ahead of the Women’s World Cup.

Bright was a big doubt heading into this pre-World Cup training camp and for the tournament itself due to a knee operation, she had earlier this year which forced her to miss the final few months of the Women’s Super League.

While this would indeed be a huge blow at any time for England and Weigman given Bright’s ability and presence in the squad, it’s even more of a problem now because regular captain, Leah Williamson, is set to miss the entire World Cup due to an ACL injury, meaning Bright is now stand-in skipper.

Bright and Nobbs absent from training

It will indeed be a race against time for Bright to not just be physically fit for the World Cup, but also to be match fit as England do indeed have a pretty tricky group out in Australia which contains the likes of Denmark, China and Haiti.

The Lionesses are certainly going to be tested in the heart of defence this summer, even if Bright is fit because it’s unlikely she will be able to play 90 minutes in all of the group games, meaning that the likes of Alex Greenwood and Esme Morgan could be tasked with starts in Australia.

#Lionesses captain Millie Bright isn’t on the training pitch today, she’s on an individual programme as she recovers from knee surgery.

Georgia Stanway and Jess Park will be limited participants as they recover from nasal surgery & a shoulder injury respectively. pic.twitter.com/o50lxP9XDm

— Anton Toloui (@SkyAnton) June 20, 2023

It’s not just the experienced Bright who could be a big miss but also the veteran and potential wildcard option from Wiegman this summer, Nobbs trained indoors today and away from the rest of the group.

Nobbs appears to have resurrected the backend of her playing career at Aston Villa under Carla Ward by notching nine goal involvement in the WSL last term featuring 19 times despite certainly being in the twilight years of her career.

England begin preparation for the World Cup

With just a few weeks until England head off to Australia and the World Cup kicks off, Wiegman will be slightly worried that not all of the players are out on the grass and training together, building up their sharpness and team chemistry.

However, the squad is largely the same as the one which won the Euros last summer with just a few keys players such as Ellen White, Jill Scott, Williamson and Beath Mead unavailable or have retired, so bonding and knowing each other on and off the pitch shouldn’t impact England too much this summer.

If you are enjoying our Women’s World Cup coverage, then make sure to stay tuned as I will be covering the tournament exclusively from out in Australia!