Chloe Kelly handed England recall after Arsenal return following Beth Mead injury blow

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Evening Standard

·17 février 2025

Chloe Kelly handed England recall after Arsenal return following Beth Mead injury blow

Euro 2022 final hero back in Lionesses squad as fellow Gunners duo both withdraw

Chloe Kelly has been called into the England squad for the upcoming Women’s Nations League games against Portugal and Spain.

Vidéos OneFootball

The winger, who made her comeback for Arsenal against Tottenham on Sunday after rejoining on loan from Manchester City last month, is a late call-up for the Lionesses after Beth Mead was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Mead was an unused substitute during Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Spurs at the weekend and will now stay with the Gunners over the international break.

Lotte Wubben-Moy, who missed the north London derby, has also been forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury. She has been replaced by Aston Villa defender Lucy Parker.

England are flying out on Monday ahead of their clash with Portugal in the Algarve on Friday. Sarina Wiegman’s side are then hosting Spain at Wembley next Wednesday in a rematch of the 2023 World Cup final.

Kelly will be delighted to be involved after initially being left out of the squad for the upcoming games. The winger, who had fallen out of favour at Manchester City, has struggled for game time this season and paid the price by losing her spot in Wiegman’s plans.

Kelly hopes a move back to Arsenal can kick-start her season and secure a spot on the plane to Euro 2025 this summer.

“She hasn’t played enough,” Wiegman said of Kelly last week. “She has some credit, but now she has to get some minutes at Arsenal, show what she is about and we can revisit.

“We had a good conversation, she understands. She is not out for the Euros, so hopefully she gets minutes and we can revisit.”