Fran Kirby: 'I am in a really good position now where I can really push on'

Sometimes in life, taking a step back is the best way to move forward. It is a sentiment which seems particularly apt for Fran Kirby in 2023.

At the turn of the year, Kirby was relishing the prospect of going to her third World Cup – a key cog in a Lionesses side who had won their first major trophy at the summer’s UEFA Women’s EURO.

But in February an injury to her right knee, which has caused her problems since she was 12 years old, was to end her season and ultimately her World Cup hopes.

Kirby has long had pain in her right knee which physios would look to manage but what she felt during February’s FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup semi-final with West Ham United was different.

Rehab during the next couple of months was going well but when she returned to the grass, so did the pain and it was decided at the beginning of May that surgery would be required.

The diagnosis was tripartite patella. The forward had two fragments of bone which were connected by tissue but were not joined to her patella bone.

Surgery removed the fragments and the pain.

It was already looking increasingly likely she would miss the World Cup and surgery just made sure of it.

The 30-year-old spent England’s first World Cup game alongside Toni Duggan and Lionesses fans, while she also appeared as a pundit on ITV during the tournament.

But Kirby’s desire to be ready for the start of the Barclays Women’s Super League season meant she missed a couple of England’s games due to her rehabilitation schedule, before watching the final with one of her best and most long-standing friends.

Kirby said: “There is always a disappointment and a ‘what if’ or ‘I wish I was there’ because you will always have that as a player – I would have loved to have gone to another World Cup and been a part of it.

“But for me, I don’t like to dwell and let things affect me so much. If I had that attitude then it might have affected my rehab or how I have been able to come back from my injury so I just tried to be as positive and as supportive of the girls as I could.

“I was messaging some of the girls and messaging Sarina and playing my role on that side of it. It gave me comfort knowing I was still supporting the girls and I think it was really important for me as I went through that time.

“I had my disappointments and my moments where I was sad but I think they came very early on in the rehab rather than towards the World Cup, where I had not necessarily gotten over it but I had come to terms with not being there.”

Kirby’s hard work over the summer paid off as she came on as a substitute in Chelsea’s first two matches of the Barclays WSL season before starting the following two.

“The results [of surgery] have been amazing and I am really happy with how I am feeling and how the knee is feeling now,” she said.

Kirby has been a vital part of the England squad since making her debut as a 21-year-old back in 2014 so a recall always seemed likely.

But even the forward was a little surprised to receive a call from Sarina Wiegman ahead of the double-header with Belgium this month.

She said: “You should never expect an England call-up regardless of who you are or where you play so I was a little bit surprised because I haven’t completed my first 90 minutes yet. But I was really happy when Sarina called me and said she wanted me to come back in and was looking forward to working with me again.”

Kirby continued: “Every week I am improving. The more I am playing at my club and the more I am training the fitter I am getting.

“So I would say I am still building, I wouldn’t say I am quite at the 100 per cent level just yet but I am getting pretty close and being away with the girls this week will definitely help me in terms of the intensity in training and hopefully I can be involved in some of the games.

“I am enjoying [being away with England] and I am looking forward to building my minutes and building my fitness up.”

Belgium currently top Group A1 of the Women’s Nations League, following their 1-1 with Scotland and 2-1 win over the Netherlands, who defeated England by the same scoreline, whilst the Lionesses recorded an identical result over neighbours Scotland.

England will hope to replace Belgium at the top of Group A1 following their double-header, which starts with a game at Leicester City’s stadium on Friday before the return fixture in Leuven on Tuesday.

Only the top side from each of the four League A groups progress to next year’s Nations League and with just the finalists qualifying for next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris (plus the third-place team if France reach the final), the importance of every fixture is clear to see.

It is no surprise, therefore, that when asked about her hopes for this camp, Kirby said: “First and foremost, it is that as a team we win both of these games. That is the most important part of it.

“Personally, I just want to be back involved – back on the grass and build myself up a little bit and into a more intense environment. If I can then get some minutes, that would be great and a stepping block in my comeback.

“I am just happy to be here and I just want to help the team win in whatever way I can.”

It has been a challenging few years for Kirby on the fitness front. Along with her previously troublesome knee, a virus during the 2019-20 season caused pericarditis – a heart condition – which saw her miss a large chunk of the campaign and in the build-up to the Women’s EURO triumph in 2022 she was sidelined with a fatigue-related illness.

Kirby said: “To be honest, I haven’t set any [long-term] goals for this season. My main priority is to be on the pitch, to stay on the pitch and to stay fit. I haven’t had that for a long time because I have always had things here and there which have niggled around and restricted me.

“So the emphasis is purely just staying on the pitch, staying fit, being available and being able to play.

“Of course, I want to play as much as I can and win as many trophies as I can – that is always going to be a goal – but I haven’t said at the beginning of this year ‘these are my key objectives’ because I know first and foremost I have to be able to stay fit and be available to be able to reach anything.”

But a summer of rehabilitation from surgery and other fitness-related work, Kirby is in a very good place.

So, after a challenging few years, does Kirby feel she can really build from here? That the problems of the past are hopefully just that, in the past?

“Absolutely,” Kirby replied. “I have worked really hard over the summer to get myself as robust as I can be. Not fitness-wise but in terms of my body and being strong enough to be able to train every day.

“I think people sometimes think of fitness as being able to run a lot but actually there is no point in running a lot if your muscles are just going to break down every time you do it, so that was a key aspect of what I was training for over the summer – just to make sure I put my body in the best shape possible to be able to withstand the training.

“I am in a really good position now where I can really push on. Hopefully, I can get some minutes and start building my fitness up at international level and then go back to Chelsea and keep building there.

“So for me, it is all about building but I don’t think I am that far away from being able to play as many minutes as possible.”

Sometimes in life, taking a step back is the best way to move forward.