Williamson set for England return in Women’s Euro 2025 qualifiers

Leah Williamson is in line to make her first England appearance in a year after being included in Sarina Wiegman’s squad for the start of Women’s Euro 2025 qualifying next month.

The Arsenal defender, who captained her country to winning Euro 2022 on home soil, missed the World Cup last year due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Williamson was included in February’s squad for friendly thrashings of Austria and Italy, but was forced to pull out to a hamstring injury.

England’s defence of the Euros begins with the visit of Sweden to Wembley on April 5 before a trip to the Republic of Ireland four days later.

France are also in a heavyweight section with the top two qualifying automatically for a place at the tournament in Switzerland next year and the bottom two entering the playoffs.

“I’m looking forward to working with (Williamson) again,” said Wiegman on Tuesday.

“She recovered really well, it doesn’t take too long which is good.

“Now she is getting into a rhythm. Of course she has not played many games yet, but she is getting there and she needs the minutes now.”

Wiegman’s women shrugged off the disappointment of missing out on the Paris Olympics by beating Austria 7-2 and Italy 5-1 last month.

Chelsea’s Fran Kirby is also back in the squad after a knee problem, but her club teammate Millie Bright, who captained the Lionesses in Williamson’s absence, remains out injured.

“February’s window showed who we are and where we want to go and we’ll look to continue that momentum from the minute we arrive at St. George’s Park next week,” added Wiegman.

“We know it’s a challenging group, but it’s really exciting. These are all big games that will test us and that’s the kind of fixtures we want to play in.”