Millie Bright fitness decision confirmed; speaks about captain's armband choice

Millie Bright has been declared fit to start for England against Haiti in the Lionesses' opening game of the 2023 Women's World Cup on Saturday and is 'raring to go' despite issues with the FA over bonsues still not being resolved.

The Chelsea defender has missed the majority of England's preparations ahead of the tournament after sustaining a knee injury at club level in March. But, having garnered vital minutes during England's behind-closed-doors friendly with Canada, the 29-year-old is now set to lead the team out.

"I think when you are surrounded by the best people, I was very confident in my recovery, and I have been given absolutely everything that I needed to be in this position that I am in," Bright said.

"I’m always confident I do everything I can so knew I’d tick all the boxes in recoveries. Unfortunately, injuries are part of football, and we have to look forward and move forward, and I think we've got an amazing group of players and staff, and everyone has stepped up. We're raring to go."

The role also comes with added responsibility, having to decide on which armband to opt to use after FIFA effectively banned the 'One Love' version and introduced eight alternative options, each representing a different social cause.

England have confirmed that their skipper will wear the ‘Unite for Inclusion’ armband.

Speaking on the decision, Bright said, "Everything that we made a decision on, we did as a team. For us, the decision with the armbands took a while, and we thought long and hard. As a collective, we stuck with what FIFA proposed. We will be wearing the different armbands. We thought it was important to shed a light on all the causes that we feel strongly about as a team."

Another problem that was facing the defender was the lack of financial support the Euro 2022 winners were feeling after it was revealed that the FA would not be awarding performance-based bonuses to the players. In an open letter signed by all 23 members of the squad, the Lionesses said they were 'dissapointed' that a resolution had still not been achieved.

Speaking on the circumstances, Bright added, "It’s not a situation everyone wants to be in but as players we’re not just programmed to play football, sometimes we have to have these conversations.
But we have a very professional group and football is always at the front of everything.

"I'm aware that everyone has seen the statement so, as players now, our heads are on the game and they always have been on the game. For now it’s all about the tournament."

Despite these decisions taking mental strain on the team, the skipper said, “Everyone has been itching for the tournament to begin. We’re all raring to go, and the excitement levels are really high.

"We’re just counting down the hours for ourselves."

READ THE LATEST LIONESSES WOMEN'S WORLD CUP 2023 NEWS HERE