England upbeat over Karen’s inclusion
ENGLAND Women’s coach Mark Sampson is confident Karen Bardsley will recover from a mystery eye problem in time for tonight’s World Cup semi-final against Japan.
Bardsley, whose family lives in Stockport, was substituted in the 52nd minute of England’s victory over Canada on Saturday after her eye began to swell.
It is unknown what caused the issue, but Sampson is optimistic the 30-year-old will retain her place in the starting line-up.
“The swelling has certainly gone down and I’m sure she’ll be wanting to get herself on the training pitch and be up for selection in what is a really big game for us,” he said.
“We still don’t know what caused the problem at the moment.
“We are pretty sure it’s an allergic reaction to something.
“We have done some tests, we have sent some information back to the UK which people are looking at now just to make sure we are aware and we can manage against it happening again.”
Bardsley has started every match for England at the World Cup so far, and was named player of the match during the win over Norway.
A win over Japan would see England face either USA or Germany in the final.