England have been dealt a double injury blow after Lauren Hemp and Ella Toone were ruled out of the Lionesses squad for their friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
Manchester City winger Hemp, widely regarded as one of the Lionesses’ most dangerous attacking threats and who featured on the shortlist for this year’s Women’s Ballon d’Or, has undergone surgery for an unspecified knee injury.
Sarina Wiegman confirmed that the 24-year-old, who has been one of the most consistent performers in the Women’s Super League this season, had not suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury and that she was “not worried about her long-term future”.
Manchester United forward Toone, who missed United’s 2-0 victory over Leicester City last Sunday, is also unavailable for both fixtures after picking up a calf injury and is expected to be out of action for several weeks.
England welcome Emma Hayes’s Olympic champions to Wembley a week on Saturday in a tantalising match-up before a meeting with 2025 European Championship hosts Switzerland at Bramall Lane on Dec 3.
The injuries leave Wiegman with several big decisions to make ahead of the matches.
Who will fill in for Lauren Hemp?
After an up-and-down 12 months in which they failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics on behalf of Team GB, England have a big opportunity to finish the calendar year strongly – but have been hit by a spate of injuries.
Chelsea duo Lauren James and Niamh Charles are still recovering from an ankle problem and shoulder dislocation respectively, while Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben-Moy is unavailable following a recent concussion.
But it is the loss of Hemp, who scored in England’s 2-1 win over the US the last time the two teams met at Wembley in October 2022, which will be felt the most. There are few players who offer the same attacking outlet as the winger, who watched City’s 2-0 defeat alongside Wiegman from the stands at Stamford Bridge last Saturday.
Manchester United midfielder Grace Clinton, who impressed in England’s 2-1 win over South Africa last month, has a glorious chance to stake her claim in Hemp’s absence. There are also call-ups for two graduates from England Under-23s, Manchester City’s Laura Blindkilde Brown and Ruby Mace, who is the first Leicester player to be called up during Wiegman’s tenure.
What are Chloe Kelly’s chances of starting?
Kelly, who will forever be remembered for scoring the winning goal at Wembley in the Euros 2022 final, has been a bench-warmer this season in a hugely competitive Manchester City squad who feature tenacious Jamaica striker Khadija Shaw.
Even with Hemp unavailable for City last weekend, Kelly featured for just 12 minutes off the bench against Women’s Super League champions Chelsea and Wiegman did not try to dress up the situation. Given her lack of minutes she faces a tall order to usurp Alessia Russo or Beth Mead for a start in Wiegman’s attacking line.
“I think it’s a concern right now,” acknowledged Wiegman of her lack of game time. “Chloe knows that she is not in the best position at the club at the moment, but [she has] enough credit to bring her in, related to the whole team and the availability of players.”
Is it time to experiment?
Wiegman has never been one for rotation – she memorably stuck with the same starting XI during England’s victorious 2022 Euros campaign – but indicated that the next two games could provide a valuable fact-finding mission given the number of relatively inexperienced players in her squad. Defender Gabby George has been called up for the first time in two years and has been one of the leading lights in a Manchester United side who have underperformed this season, while Tottenham Hotspur’s Jess Naz and Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones retain their places from the October camp.
“We want to try out new things, we want to experiment. We’re not going to get everything right but it’s so important in the games against the US and Switzerland to figure out things and to see players,” Wiegman said. “That gives us so much information. We will play to win – we always do – but at the same time we’re experimenting and if we get things out of that, then for me it’s successful.”
What about the Wiegman-Hayes match-up?
England’s date with the US will pit two of the best managers of the women’s game against each other under the lights at Wembley. Wiegman’s previous relationship with Hayes was mostly collaborative, with the pair having worked in a club-reporting-to-country capacity when Hayes was at Chelsea.
“I value her really highly,” said Wiegman. “What she’s done in the women’s game and what she did at Chelsea. She was really ready for the US job and you could see that. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to do. It’s really hard, even in the [Olympic] final, we saw how hard that game was, but they found a way to win. It was really impressive.”
Hayes has enjoyed a lightning start across the Atlantic and seamlessly settled into the biggest job in women’s football, having guided the US to Olympic glory last summer. But she finds herself in a similar position to Wiegman in that she will be without a host of top names. Attacking trio Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith, who call themselves “Triple Espresso”, were not named in Hayes’s squad for next week’s trip to London. Wiegman, though, has warned that her side will face a “decent” US side who will provide a good indication of where her side are at as they head into a Euros year.
England squad for US and Switzerland friendlies
Goalkeepers Mary Earps (Paris St-Germain), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride).
Defenders Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Jess Carter (Gotham), Gabby George (Manchester United), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), Millie Turner (Manchester United), Leah Williamson (Arsenal).
Midfielders Laura Blindkilde Brown (Manchester City), Grace Clinton (Manchester United), Fran Kirby (Brighton & Hove Albion), Jess Park (Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Ruby Mace (Leicester City).
Forwards Aggie Beever-Jones (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Jess Naz (Tottenham Hotspur), Alessia Russo (Arsenal).
