Leah Williamson: England captain returns to Lionesses squad for international friendlies after ACL injury

Leah Williamson has been named in the Lionesses squad for the first time since April 2023.

The England captain and centre-back was forced to miss the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand when she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament towards the end of last season.

She made her return to the Women’s Super League in Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to West Ham earlier this month, having already played in a 6-0 League Cup victory against Reading at the end of January.

Manager Sarina Wiegman selected Williamson as part of her 23-player squad for international friendlies against Austria and Italy later this month.

These fixtures were scheduled after the Lionesses failed to qualify for the UEFA Nations League finals, with the squad set to head to Algeciras in southern Spain for a warm weather training camp and the two friendly matches instead.

There are few changes from the Lionesses squad which was selected for the culmination of the UEFA Nations League in December.

Manchester City’s Jess Park is back in the squad after last featuring in October, replacing Manchester United’s Katie Zelem.

There is also no space for United’s Nikita Parris, who has scored seven goals in her last six matches for the WSL team.

Chelsea’s Millie Bright, who captained England at the Women’s World Cup in Williamson’s absence, is still unavailable for selection due to a knee injury.

The Lionesses will play Austria at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador on February 23, before coming up against Italy on February 27.

Both matches will be used as preparation for the Euro 2025 qualifying campaign, which gets underway in April.

“This camp is where the road to Euro 2025 in Switzerland begins,” Wiegman said. “Playing against strong teams like Austria and Italy is just the preparation we need before we kick off our qualifying campaign in April. I am really looking forward to getting back on the grass with the squad.

“It is the first time we will be back together as a group since last year. Travelling away for this camp will give us a great opportunity to connect again on and off the pitch and allow us to give minutes to many players.

“Being in Spain with hopefully good weather and excellent facilities is the perfect setting for the work we need to do as a team to get us ready for another very important year ahead.”

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