By Lori Ewing
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -Fran Kirby is back in England's women's squad for the first time since sustaining a knee injury in February while midfielder Grace Clinton and goalkeeper Khiara Keating earned their first call-ups for the Nations League double header against Belgium.
Kirby's knee injury kept the midfielder out of the Women's World Cup but she started her first game for Chelsea in eight months in Saturday's victory over West Ham United.
"It's very nice that she's back on the pitch and she's fit and healthy. And she played really well (on Saturday)," England coach Sarina Wiegman told reporters at St. George's Park.
"I'm happy for her in the first place, I think she has been building up to those moments also during the summer, and she showed enough quality in her performance that she comes back into team."
Keira Walsh also returns to the squad after missing two Nations League games with a calf injury. The Barcelona midfielder was sidelined for England's final World Cup group game against China with a knee injury, but returned to help the Lionesses finish runners up.
Wiegman said Beth Mead, who made her first appearance in nearly a year with Arsenal on Sunday, is not quite ready to return to the Lionesses.
"To be honest, she was not close," Wiegman said of Mead, the Golden Boot winner and Player of the Tournament at England's Euro 2022 triumph. "She's in a good place now. She has been out for nine months. She had her first minutes which was very nice to see. And she was really happy the crowd was very happy so gave a lot of energy too.
"But she first has to build at club, show performance at club and get that consistency back ... and then we will have an opportunity to select her."
The Lionesses are third in Group A1 with three points after a win over Scotland and loss to the Netherlands while Belgium top the group with four points.
England host the Belgians on Oct. 27 at Leicester City's ground and then travel to Leuven four days later.
Wiegman said she "feels safe enough" to play Belgium after two Swedish soccer fans were shot dead in an attack in Brussels on Monday ahead of a men's Euro 2024 qualifying match against Sweden.
"Of course that's an awful situation. Very, very horrible. And of course the (England) FA has conversations with the Belgium FA and it's all about safety," she said. "I haven't talked to the players at the moment, but I do feel safe and there are conversations going on and they will do everything to make us safe."
The call-ups of the 20-year-old Clinton, who scored her first goal for Tottenham Hotspur with a superb long-range strike last weekend, and Keating, 19, "shows just how much talent England has," Wiegman said.
"What I want to see from them is they come in camps, see how they relate to the other players in the squad and let's show what they can do."
England squad:
Goalkeepers: Mary Earps, Hannah Hampton, Khiara Keating, Ellie Roebuck.
Defenders: Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter, Niamh Charles, Alex Greenwood, Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan, Lucy Parker, Lotte Wubben-Moy.
Midfielders: Grace Clinton, Fran Kirby, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Katie Zelem, Keira Walsh.
Forwards: Rachel Daly, Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly, Jess Park, Alessia Russo
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Ken Ferris and Toby Davis)
