It had been more than a year since Fran Kirby pulled on an England shirt, 381 days to be precise, but to hear the response of the crowd on her return from her latest injury during England’s 1-0 Nations League win over Belgium is something she won’t forget.
Kirby injured a knee in Chelsea’s Continental Cup semi-final win over West Ham in February and missed the summer’s World Cup after requiring surgery. The forward also had a lengthy spell out in 2019-20, with pericarditis, an inflammation of the fluid-filled sac around the heart.
