Fran Kirby: I need to work hard to get back but I need to do it in a safe way

Fran Kirby acknowledges she will need to work hard to earn back her place in the England team but highlighted that she will need to do so in a ‘safe way’

Kirby was forced to take a break from football in February due to a fatigue-related illness but she returned to the Chelsea squad for the Vitality Women’s FA Cup Final earlier this month and was included in Sarina Wiegman’s provisional squad for this summer’s EUROs.

And the 28-year-old discussed her Lionesses return as she drove to St. George’s Park on Monday.

“I’m really excited to be back. It has been an interesting few months for me but I am happy to be here, happy to be involved and happy to be back at St. George’s Park with the girls.

“It has been really tough. Obviously, I have had previous experiences with illness so it was quite a hard one to take but at the time, I wasn’t really caring about football or training or anything like that so I think I dealt with it really well.

“It was really tough missing games and missing being a part of the team. I couldn’t really go into the training ground and you just lose a lot of the things that you used to be able to do. I couldn’t even walk the dog for five minutes, so it has been nice being able to start doing that again and being back into training.

Feeling good 😎 pic.twitter.com/IYC2NlKyPm

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) May 30, 2022

“It was tough but now I am on the other side of it and hopefully I can continue pushing.

“I want to keep pushing and keep going forward and training more. Obviously I had a bit of a different training schedule when I first came back. For me I know I have to push and try hard but also at the same time do the right things to make sure things don’t happen again which happened previously.

“I know I have to perform to get back into the team and get back into the squad but also do it in a safe way. I know my body now, I know what I can do and what I can’t do and I have said all along to Sarina and the coaches that I will be honest and if I am not right then I am not right but at the moment I am feeling good so I am excited and hopefully I can be involved and get some training in.”