England forward Lauren James will miss the Women’s Nations League double-header against Belgium because of concussion.
The Lionesses play the first of their two-parter at Leicester on Friday but the Chelsea player will not be involved as she goes through the relevant protocols after suffering a head injury.
Lotte Wubben-Moy trained on Thursday and could be involved in the squad at the King Power Stadium.
“We have 25 players, but they are not all fit,” boss Sarina Wiegman said. “Unfortunately, Lauren James is not ready, she won’t be ready for Tuesday also.
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“Nothing to worry about, she picked up a concussion and she knows we have to be careful of the protocols that we always do, so that is just too short to be ready for the two games.
“Lotte is on the pitch and we will assess her today, everyone else is good.”
Wiegman acknowledged things are “not going to change overnight” in light of the lack of diversity in the women’s game coming under further scrutiny this week.
Back in February, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes made pointed comments that professional women’s football in England was a middle-class sport and that the academy set-up did not bring in diverse talent.
There were three Black players in the Lionesses’ squad of 23 that won Euro 2022 and three Black players – Lauren James, Ebony Salmon and Jess Carter were named in the 26 for the Arnold Clark Cup eight months ago.
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“I’m happy with all the things we’re doing but that doesn’t change overnight,” Wiegman said at her press conference ahead of England’s Nations League encounter with Belgium on Friday.
“It’s not going to change in a month or two months. With the discovery of talent training centres, there’s more access for everyone. Hopefully we’ll soon see what we see in society where the best in football are playing at the top level.”