Millie Bright said she has “no concerns at all” about being ready for the World Cup and believes she is slightly ahead of schedule in her recovery from her knee injury.
“The number of minutes I’ve played before this has been ridiculous,” said the England captain. “I feel physically and mentally fresher than I’ve ever felt. Just based on the amount I’ve played it’s been a blessing that I’m recovering. I’ve been putting in the work and I’ll be doing that until the tournament, so I have no concerns at all.”
Bright, who has replaced injured Leah Williamson as captain for the World Cup, said her knee is “really good” after she trained separately from the team at the Lionesses’ St George’s Park training base on Tuesday.
“It’s hard for everyone on the outside because today was the first time you’ve seen me out on the pitch, but I’ve actually been out there since [last week],” she said. “I’ve just been training individually, ticking the boxes to prepare me for when I can return to the team.”
Bright injured her knee in the first leg of Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final with Lyon in March.
Brazil forward Marta is set to play at her sixth World Cup after being named in Pia Sundhage's squad for the tournament starting on 20 July in Australia and New Zealand.
Six-time Fifa World player of the year Marta, 37, will lead Brazil's quest for a first Women's World Cup title alongside other experienced players such as Debinha, Tamires and Andressa Alves.
However, the former US and Sweden coach does not guarantee that the all-time Women's World Cup top scorer will feature in the starting lineup.
"Marta is the queen, she is an icon. Just being around her is contagious," said Sundhage on Tuesday. "If she will be in the starting lineup I don't know, not yet. She will play the role I will give her and I am sure she will do well."
Brazil will start a training camp this week and face Chile in a farewell friendly on Sunday before travelling to Australia. Reuters
“I think we are a little bit ahead, but there’s a big chunk of time before the first game so we are really confident and everything is going exactly the way we want it to go,” said Bright.
The send-off game against Portugal on Saturday at Milton Keynes will come “a little bit too soon” though.
