Kirby’s England hopes salvaged by oxygen tent
Treatment helped forward to overcome ‘extreme fatigue’ Wiegman believes Chelsea star can have big Euros role
When she was showered with awards in a glittering, all-conquering 2021, it was unthinkable that England’s leading light, Fran Kirby, could miss the Euros. But when a worrying illness struck in February, it appeared a serious prospect.
Now the Chelsea forward has spoken of her relief at making the squad for next month’s home tournament, after using an oxygen tent in her house to help her recover.
Kirby did not play for nearly four months after suffering from symptoms of “extreme fatigue and exhaustion” and had to sit out April’s England internationals as well as the finale to Chelsea’s double-winning season. But she says getting herself healthy was on her mind rather than stressing about whether or not she would make England’s Euros squad.
Speaking at length about her illness for the first time, the 28-yearold said: “I didn’t even think about being in a Euros squad in Februaryapril time. It wasn’t really in my mind. We didn’t really know how long it was going to take [to return], two weeks or four months. I had conversations with [Chelsea manager] Emma Hayes and said, ‘What will be, will be, if I’m ready I’m ready.’ It wasn’t like you could have a brain scan to show you’re dealing with a certain thing.
“There were no specific answers, it was extreme fatigue and extreme exhaustion. But I feel really privileged that I had the club, Chelsea, and England all coming together, brainstorming.
“Going in the oxygen tent always looked a bit scary but it was quite cool. I was seeing a different specialist every day to pinpoint what exactly was going on. I went to Barcelona to meet some of the best doctors in sport.
“I had some amazing people reach out to me from other sports who have gone through very similar things – a marathon runner, another footballer, a rower, giving me loads of ideas. That helped me so much to understand, this isn’t just a normal type of fatigue, it’s fatigue that loads of competitors get.”
Kirby improved to be fit enough to make the bench, albeit as an unused substitute, for Chelsea’s FA Cup final victory in May, and then joined England’s camp at the end of the month. She made her longawaited return to competitive action as a substitute in England’s friendly against Belgium last Thursday, coming on with just under half an hour to go and helping the Lionesses to win 3-0.
By that point, head coach Sarina Wiegman had already confirmed the former Reading player was in her final 23, telling each player in person individually. Kirby said: “It’s more relief for me. [The squad confirmation] was one of those when you’re sitting there waiting for your phone to light up to say, ‘Go to the room’, a bit like X Factor. I walked in and I saw her smiling. She told me that she all along knew that I was going to be an important part of this team.
“We had some really honest conversations leading into it. I [had previously] said to her, ‘I need you to be honest with me and I’ll be honest with you, if we both feel like I’m not ready, then we make that decision’. I gave everything I could in those two weeks.
“There’s been constant communication there and Sarina’s really taken it on board, and she’s really managed the load, not just of me but everyone. Previously in England camp we’ve all felt that we’ve had to do exactly the same thing all the time, but everyone’s body is different.”
This year’s illness was not the first for Kirby in recent years. She suffered from a viral infection that caused pericarditis – an inflammation of the fluid-filled sac around the heart – in the 2019-20 campaign which left her “bedridden”.
On the lack of a precise formal diagnosis, Kirby said: “That is a concern, but for me I am learning each time, I’ve kind of learnt now what the triggers are and when I start to feel a certain way and how I can prevent that from happening.”
Asked if she had ever feared she would not make it to England’s July 6 Euros opener against Austria, Kirby said: “I never really had in the back of my mind, ‘Oh my god, I’m not going to get selected for the Euros now’, because I just wasn’t focusing my energy on that.
“There was definitely relief to get selected, but I [wasn’t] thinking about it every day, because it’s not in your control.”
Kirby is in line for more minutes in an England shirt when the Lionesses host European champions the Netherlands in a warm-up game at Elland Road tomorrow night.