England squad LIVE: Sarina Wiegman reveals Leah Williamson decision ahead of Lionesses friendlies

What about Millie Bright?

England were without both Williamson and Bright when they missed out on the Nations League finals in December, with the Chelsea defender sidelined since November with a knee injury.

Chelsea boss Emma Hayes said Bright was unlikely to be ready for England’s internationals this month and the centre-back is yet to return to action for the WSL champions.

The Blues are expecting Bright to be ready after this month’s international break.

Will Wiegman pick Williamson?

Even though the Lionesses captain has returned to the pitch, her selection is not guaranteed.

Wiegman took her time to bring Beth Mead back into the fold when the Arsenal forward returned from her ACL injury and waited until she was 100 per cent fit.

Williamson only played her first 90 minutes this past weekend, in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Man City in the FA Cup.

Before that, she played the first half of Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham in the WSL, and she came off the bench as a substitute against Reading in the Conti Cup.

But with Millie Bright still out, England could do with having Williamson’s leadership back in the defence.

Leah Williamson’s last appearance for England came in April 2023 as the Lionesses suffered their first defeat under Sarina Wiegman in a friendly against Australia.

The Arsenal centre-back then suffered a ruptured ACL, missing the World Cup and leaving a hole in the Lionesses team.

England would reach the World Cup final without their captain, but Williamson’s return is a huge boost ahead of Euro 2025.

When is Euro 2025 qualifying?

After missing out on the Nations League finals, as well as the Summer Olympics, England’s next competitive matches will be in the Euro 2025 qualifiers.

The defending European champions will start their qualifying campaign in April - the Lionesses will be in League A in the reformed qualifying format, which mirrors the Nations League system.

The pots for the qualifying draw have yet to be confirmed but England are set to be in Pot 2 for the League A draw.

The qualifying draw will take place on 5 March and England could book their place as early as July 2024.

England will head to Spain later this month to play friendly matches against Austria and Italy.

The Lionesses would have planned to be in the Nations League finals, which are to be played in this international window, but Sarina Wiegman’s side missed out of the final four after finishing behind the Netherlands in the group phase.

The Lionesses will play Austria on Friday 23 February and then on Italy the following Tuesday.

When is England’s squad announcement?

Sarina Wiegman will announce her England squad at 11:15am GMT on Tuesday 13 February at St George’s Park. The Lionesses manager will then give a press conference to explain her selections.

England manager Sarina Wiegman is set to name her first Lionesses squad of 2024 ahead of a pair of international friendlies against Austria and Italy later this month.

You can follow live updates from this morning’s announcement in today’s live blog