Nobbs misses out on Euros spot with Houghton, Kelly and Kirby making provisional England squad

ARSENAL’S Jordan Nobbs will miss the Women’s Euros after sustaining a knee ligament injury towards the end of this season. Steph Houghton is among the notable figures making a Lionesses return with Fran Kirby and Chloe Kelly also named in a provisional squad. Houghton, 34, has been out of action for Manchester City for much […]

ARSENAL’S Jordan Nobbs will miss the Women’s Euros after sustaining a knee ligament injury towards the end of this season.

Steph Houghton is among the notable figures making a Lionesses return with Fran Kirby and Chloe Kelly also named in a provisional squad.

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Reuters

Arsenal’s Jordan Nobbs will miss out on the Euros after damaging her knee ligaments during a WSL game against Aston Villa[/caption]

Houghton, 34, has been out of action for Manchester City for much of this term due to an Achilles problem.

The veteran Citizens centre-back has been included in head coach Sarina Wiegman’s 28-strong list.

A final 23-player squad is due to be confirmed by Wiegman in mid-June.

The provisional squad, to be captained by Leah Williamson, has been announced 50 days ahead of the European Championships.

The tournament will commence with England’s clash with Austria at Old Trafford on July 6.

England boss Wiegman, 53, said: “The Euros are getting closer, and this is a big step towards the tournament. 

“We also look forward to welcoming those who have been working individually and with their clubs on their fitness in the past few weeks.

We are hoping to have them back on the pitch when the series of pre camps start, so we can see where they are at.”

“We have a settled squad and I know we have players in our team that will give everything to make it a summer to remember. 

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“It is important the players have the chance to get some rest now after a very busy season before we get back to our work.”

Chloe Kelly’s return to the Lionesses squad comes a month after the winger made her first start for Man City following her recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Sandy MacIver, Lucy Staniforth and Jill Scott have also been included with City veteran Scott working her way back to fitness.

England are set to play in three pre-Euros warm-up games next month starting with a match against Belgium on Molineux on June 13.

This will be followed by a duel with European champs the Netherlands at Elland Road on June 24 and then a clash with Switzerland in Zurich the following week.

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Fran Kirby is among the figures included in the Lionesses’ provisional squad[/caption]

England, who enjoyed pre-Euros warm-up success with their Arnold Clark Cup triumph in March, are currently unbeaten under Wiegman.

The Lionesses chief led the Netherlands to Euros victory on Dutch soil back in 2017.

The tournament’s final game saw Arsenal star Vivianne Miedema netting a brace in a 4-2 win against Denmark.