England’s WWC squad: Bright captain, Mead out

Beth Mead has not recovered from injury to make the England squad for the Women’s World Cup but there is a recall for Beth England as head coach Sarina Wiegman named her 23-player squad on Wednesday.

Mead suffered an ACL injury in December and in March, Wiegman said it would take a “miracle” for her to recover in time despite recent signs of progress.

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There is also no place for defender Steph Houghton, but Millie Bright is named as she continues to recover from a knee injury and is a strong candidate to captain the team in the absence of Leah Williamson.

Elsewhere, Jordan Nobbs is included as are Esme Morgan, Laura Coombs, Katie Zelem, Katie Robinson and England.

“I have huge belief in this squad and we’re very fortunate to be selecting a fantastic group of players to travel to Australia,” Wiegman said in a statement.

“We know we will face tough challenges from strong teams, and we will have to be competitive from the first match on July 22. We will do everything to be at our very best again this summer.

“It is important the players get some well-deserved time to rest and recover over the next few weeks before we start the final preparations to get them ready. We learned a lot of positive lessons about how to get the players fit, fresh and ready from the Euros last summer and we know what we have to do to make sure we hit the ground running in the right way when the tournament starts.”

Full 23-player England squad

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City).

Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal).

Midfielders: Laura Coombs (Manchester City), Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona) Katie Zelem (Manchester united).

Forwards: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Bethany England (Tottenham Hotspur), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Alessia Russo (Manchester United), Katie Robinson (Brighton & Hove Albion).