The two Manchester-based players will not participate in Phil Neville’s week-long training camp
Katie Zelem and Lucy Bronze have both withdrawn from the England squad for the Lionesses’ September training camp.
Manchester United captain Zelem has tested positive for Covid-19 and has been forced to self-isolate. There will not be a replacement named for the 24-year-old midfielder.
Man City star Bronze, meanwhile, has withdrawn due to an injury she picked up in her side’s WSL match against Brighton at the weekend. She has been replaced on the roster by Everton‘s Izzy Christiansen.
Christiansen was last capped for England in March 2019 and was forced to miss the World Cup in France last summer due to ankle surgery.
Bronze had only just re-joined Manchester City, returning after a trophy-laden spell at French side Lyon. The 28-year-old played for City between 2014 and 2017, after which she left for France.
Zelem was one of seven players handed their first international call-ups for the September camp, along with defensive trio Lotte Wubben-Moy, Millie Turner and Esme Morgan, midfielders Ella Toone and Niamh Charles, and forward Rinsola Babajide.
England have convened for the first time in seven months at their base in Burton to undergo an intensive seven-day training camp.
An 11-a-side training match will also be staged behind closed doors on Friday as England prepare for a return to competitive action next month against Germany in Wiesbaden.
The camp is seen as a kick-off for preparations for a cycle that will see the Lionesses aim for glory at the UEFA Women’s European Championship in 2022 and the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the following year.
“It’s important that we offer as many opportunities as possible for some of the country’s best young talent to stake their claim for a place in the senior England squad for this exciting three-year period,” head coach Phil Neville said last week.
“All of the young talent who have been given their opportunity today are extremely deserving of their senior call-ups, having performed strongly at club level and through England’s development teams. Now is their opportunity to prove themselves at senior international level and I’m excited to see the blend of youthful ambition and senior experience.”
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