- Bright still sidelined with a knee injury
- No return date set
- World Cup starts in July
WHAT HAPPENED? Hayes has confirmed that Bright will not play against Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League on Saturday, adding that the Chelsea captain is still some way away from making her return to action after suffering a knee injury.
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WHAT THEY SAID: "No Millie Bright. She’s had a clean out in her knee. Millie will be out for weeks, I can’t say how many," Hayes told reporters. "Kadeisha Buchanan will not be available for this game. She’ll be out for weeks."
AND WHAT'S MORE: Hayes also expressed her disappointment at seeing England captain Leah Williamson ruled out of the World Cup after suffering an ACL injury.
"Disappointing to see such a huge injury again. I’ve said this many times. It will take too long to go through everything I think about ACLs," she added. "We need to stay away from lazy comments about these injuries. It’s multi-faceted. There's a lot of reasons why these injuries happen, today is not the place to discuss it."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Bright has been pictured on crutches but tried to play down fears about her injury by posting on social media: "I'm on the mend, back soon." However, Hayes' comments suggest Bright could be facing a race against time to be fit for the World Cup which would be another huge blow to England, particularly after already seeing Williamson forced out of the tournament.
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GettyWHAT NEXT? Chelsea host Barcelona in the first leg of their semi-final tie on Saturday, with the return at the Camp Nou scheduled for Thursday, April 27. The winners will play either Arsenal or Wolfsburg in the final.