Beth Mead believes the competition for places amongst England 's forwards is raising the standards across the Lionesses' strikeforce.
Arsenal forward Mead, 27, is currently on the sidelines after suffering a ruptured ACL in a WSL game at home to Man Utd back in November, although she did also state that her rehabilitation was progressing "ahead of schedule." As a result, she missed the most-recent international break, which saw England retain the Arnold Clark Cup after three wins over South Korea, Italy and Belgium, with the Lionesses extending their unbeaten run under manager Sarina Wiegman.
Mead is motivated to return for the 2023 World Cup finals, with the Lionesses' opening game on July 22, but revealed that the excellent form of other players in her position will give her an extra push to return an even better player. Speaking to Mirror Football as a McDonald's Fun Football ambassador, the England star added that the teams' recent form highlights the incredible depth within the squad.
"We're (England) in an amazing place," said Mead. "Sarina has done an amazing job both on and off the pitch, in terms of culture. Credit to the girls, they played some really great football over the last three games.
"It is amazing the depth we do have in the squad. When we're missing players who started during the Euros, the girls are still putting in great performances. That competitiveness and healthy competition for places I think is what drives us to be better than the rest.
"I've got to kickstart myself going again when I get back. In my position you have Chloe Kelly who is on fire, Lauren James is on fire and Lauren Hemp is unbelievable. They are pushing me to become better as well and I'd like to think I did that with them, with how I played during the Euros.
"We're all making each other better. But I think I'm the OAP in those wide forward areas!"
Mead has endured an extremely difficult few months in her personal life with the sad passing of mother June from ovarian cancer. On a professional level she is having to battle back from an injury that can be potentially career-threatening.
But despite suffering a huge injury, she remains positive and isn't yet ruling out a return to fitness for the World Cup in the summer.
"I'm progressing really well three months in, but this injury is a slow burner," Mead explained. "You've got to hit different goals at different stages. First it is running, then changing direction, then getting involved with the ball for example.
"There are a lot of ups and downs that come through this injury, but at the moment I am ahead of schedule which is really nice.
"I'll just try and continue to be positive, but I'm taking one step at a time. My motivation is the World Cup but if it is not meant to be, it is not meant to be.
"Sarina is amazing at making you feel a valued member of the team regardless if you are there or not. She has rang me, text me and kept up to date. She is always asking if there is anything they can do.
"At some point we'll sit down and have a conversation at some point and see which direction things are going to go in."
In a cruel twist, Mead's partner and teammate Viv Miedema also suffered an ACL injury at the Emirates less than a month after she was sidelined. And the England forward said although it wasn't an ideal situation, both were keeping spirits high and had a new found appreciation for playing the game.
"I managed to get about three weeks of sympathy before she ( Miedema ) did the same," joked Mead. "So that wasn't ideal. A couple of the girls have been great and came round to babysit us when we were both on crutches.
"I ended up being the more mobile one very quickly. It is difficult, on one side you both understand what the other person is going through, but on the other we've not got that football fix to break away from.
"We'd both be doing anything to be back on the pitch with the girls, helping the team and doing all we can. I think it has given us a new found appreciation of enjoying football while we're there. So we're doing ok."
Mead was speaking after hosting a Fun Football session, a McDonalds programme which aims to inspire children to take part in grassroots football and enjoy an active lifestyle, with an additional aim of encouraging kids to read ahead of World Book Day next week.
And she is optimistic that grassroots participation for girls in particular will continue to grow in the coming years.
"We want to inspire kids both on and off the pitch," Mead added. "My mum took me to my first (football) session which was a boys session. I loved every minute, but that was the only thing that was available at the time.
"This Fun Football programme is for both girls and boys of any ages and to have things like this available, you can understand why we have more amazing footballers than ever before coming through the youth system.
"Doing what we did in the Euros has helped bring new people to the game and we want to keep that increase and not let it drop off. Hopefully that means we can take the women's game to new heights over the next few years."
