England draft in Chloe Kelly after Beth Mead’s injury | OneFootball

Chloe Kelly has been called up to the England squad to replace her injured Arsenal team-mate Beth Mead.

The forward is one of two replacements ahead of the Lionesses’ Nations League fixtures against Portugal and Spain, with Aston Villa defender Lucy Parker also joining up in place of Lotte Wubben-Moy, who has withdrawn.

Kelly, on loan at Arsenal from Manchester City, made the first appearance of her second spell with the Gunners as a substitute in their 5-0 victory over local rivals Tottenham on Sunday.

Kelly’s call-up is the latest chapter in a dramatic few months for the 27-year-old, who boss Sarina Wiegman last week said was left out of her latest England camp due to a lack of playing time this season.

On Tuesday, Wiegman said:  “She hasn’t played enough in my opinion. She moved clubs now, but last autumn she hardly played.

“As I said, she’s got some credits, but over that time she played so few minutes so let’s first now get started at Arsenal, get some minutes in, start playing and showing what you’re about, and then we can revisit that again.

“We had a good conversation yesterday and she understands she’s not out from the Euros.”

Kelly, who scored the winner in the final against Germany to secure England their first major silverware at the 2022 Euros, went public in January about frustrations with her lack of playing time and a situation at parent club City she felt had taken a toll on her mental health.

She had been included in Wiegman’s final England squad of 2024, but was forced to withdraw after sustaining a concussion.

Kelly seemed to have accepted her fate when it came to her exclusion in the latest camp, telling Sky Sports: “I think it’s clear that I need to get football under my belt.

“I put so much trust in (Wiegman), so I think what’s best as a team is me not going to this camp and getting that smile on my face and football in my legs.”

England play Portugal in the Algarve on February 21 before taking on Spain – who they lost to in the 2023 World Cup final – on February 26 at Wembley.

The Lionesses have further fixtures ahead of them in their Nations League group, which also features Belgium, before kicking off their European title defence in July.