Leah Williamson returns to England squad after 10-month absence
England captain Leah Wiliamson has been recalled to the Lionesses squad as they start preparations for the Euro 2025 qualifiers with friendlies against Austria and Italy.
Williamson has been called up again after suffering an ACL injury in April last year. She lifted the Women's Finalissima trophy weeks before suffering the rupture, missing England's World Cup campaign. The 26-year-old returned to the pitch for Arsenal recently, making two starts in the WSL.
Midfielder Jess Park has also earned a recall after being dropped from recent squads, while Chelsea's Millie Bright is still unavailable through injury.
Surprisingly there is no room for Manchester United's Nikita Parris, who has been capped 71 times by England, in Sarina Wiegman's 23-player squad after excelling for at club level in recent weeks, notching 15 goals in all competitions this season.
At the end of 2023, England fell agonisingly short of qualifying for the Nations League finals after defeats to the Netherlands and Belgium during the group stage.
Despite clawing back a 3-2 win over the Dutch and storming to a 6-0 emphatic victory over Scotland, it was not enough to topple the Netherlands' superior goal difference on a dramatic final matchday, leaving the Lionesses lying in second.
Securing progressing to the Nations League finals also acted as qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympics and as England were the representative nation for Great Britain, they will not compete at this summer's games.
At the start of this year, Wiegman signed a new contract with England, keeping her at the helm until the 2027 World Cup. The Lionesses made it to the final for the first time last summer but suffered a 1-0 defeat to Spain — the second successive time Wiegman had finished as
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