Fisk injury depletes England options in defence

Grace Fisk, the captain of Liverpool, injured her calf in training, reducing England’s already exhausted defensive options for their final friendly game against Ghana.

The 27-year-old, who was initially called into the Lionesses pool during the October window due to Katie Reid’s withdrawal, was named in manager Sarina Wiegman’s original squad for the first time.

The defender will not have the opportunity to earn her first cap for England against Portugal on Tuesday (19:00 GMT) due to the injury.

She really enjoyed it and took a step up. She picked up this minor injury, which is disappointing, primarily for her,” Wiegman said.

“That’s the way it is, and I think it’s good she at least had the chance to train.”

That’s the good news, though, because I hope she recovers quickly and will start playing for Liverpool soon.

Wiegman has already lost a number of center-backs, and Fisk is the most recent replacement.

While Arsenal teenager Reid pulled out of last month’s friendlies due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, Captain Leah Williamson is recovering from her knee injury from Euro 2025.

Following Gotham FC’s victory in the National Women’s Soccer League Championship final against Washington Spirit, both Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter are injured, and Jess Carter was rested.

Maya Le Tissier, the captain for Manchester United, could start her fourth straight game for England against Lotte Wubben-Moy or Esme Morgan of the Washington Spirit.

In their final two international competitions of the year, England have one eye on the 2027 Women’s World Cup, playing teams from four different continents.

Wiegman’s side will begin the qualification process next year, and it will give them another chance to face different opposition while celebrating their four-game “homecoming” series victory.

There are 63 places in Fifa’s world rankings between the nations, including Ghana, in addition to England.

Wiegman anticipates that Ghana will be a real test because The Lionesses are resounding favorites after defeating China with ease on Saturday.

We obviously want that, of course. You frequently see a lot of speed and physicality when we play the African nations, Wiegman said on BBC Radio 5 Live, and we talk a lot about that. Of course, they have their own unique play styles and different adjustments in how they want to play.

Ghana’s “how they want to play” is also clearly defined. They occasionally want to play a possession game, but they also want to be direct.

We don’t want them to play while we force them to, “because that’s what we want them to do.” We want that to advance to the next stage, so that’s a good thing.

Wiegman also hopes that the game, which will be played at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton in front of a crowd of 24, 000, will pique people’s interest and help raise the profile of the women’s game.

The women’s game is expanding, and it is expanding rapidly, as we’ve been saying all the time. With everything developing so quickly in England, she continued.

“I believe that this offers them an opportunity.” We interact, and I hope to receive a lot of attention in Africa, and especially Ghana.