England captain Leah Williamson will return to the national team in Tuesday's Euro 2025 qualifier against Ireland after a year out due to a serious knee injury.
Williamson suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in April last year, which sidelined her for nine months and forced her to miss the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The defender returned to Arsenal in the Women's Super League in January and was named to the England squad in February. However, she suffered a slight injury to her hamstring and was forced to withdraw from the team.
England manager Sarina Wigman confirmed on Monday that Williamson would start against Ireland after sitting out Friday's 1-1 draw with Sweden at Wembley.
“Yes, it will happen. [emotional]”Friday was emotional,” Williamson said at a news conference. We have all seen me cry many times. Friday was an emotional one, even though if there was any team in the world I'd want to be a part of, England would be right up there. I love playing for England.
“I just live and breathe it. I love playing for England, but I love watching England, so maybe that calming feeling that I'm known for on the pitch rather than on the sideline. It’s not an existence.”
Later on Tuesday at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Williamson will make her first appearance for England since April 2023, when she led her team to the Women's Finalissima trophy. The 27-year-old also led the Lionesses to the Euro 2022 title, but missed out on last year's World Cup, where England lost to Spain in the final.
Despite being on the sidelines, Williamson is enjoying England's performance, especially with the arrival of new players.
“I loved getting to know the girls I hadn't played with before. The environment still feels welcoming and it's great news to be back,” she said.
She said the Lionesses have proven their competitiveness over the past few years.
“We went to the World Cup and I think we saw a different style because there were so many different challenges, different teams and the World Cup was a little bit more of a crazy environment and we found a way to win every time.” Over the years England have seen a team that can be competitive against anyone in our game,” she explained.
“I think we're impressed watching. So I think that's the difference I've seen. Coming back, the competitiveness within the team and the desire to get better is still the same.”
Coach Wiegman praised Williamson, calling him a “great player.”
“The first thing I would like to say is that we had to make a difficult choice within the team. The competitiveness is really high. What Leah brings is vision and when he has the ball he is very good. She is intelligent and finds the right passes. Defensive flexibility: she can defend spaces behind with other players,” Wiegman said.