England defender Lucy Bronze will miss ‘a couple of weeks’ after undergoing knee surgery and has been ruled out of Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final second leg on Thursday.
The full-back went down clutching her knee in the 65th minute of Barca’s Champions League meeting with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, receiving medical attention on the pitch. Concerns were heightened when, as she went to walk off, her knee gave way.
Barcelona, who won the first leg 1-0, only need to avoid defeat in the Nou Camp to reach the final for a second consecutive year.
Barca head coach Jonatan Giraldez commented on Bronze’s situation at a press conference on Wednesday morning: “She has lots of experience, the feelings are good with her knee. She has a strain, an ailment. It’s a tiny intervention, just a couple of weeks.
“Lucy has been important for us. We have plenty of players here and I know we have players that can step in.”
Injury worries continue to deepen for England manager Sarina Wiegman with less than three months to go until the start of the World Cup, with Beth Mead and Leah Williamson already ruled out of this summer’s tournament, and Millie Bright currently on the sidelines nursing a knee problem.