Keira Walsh could return for England's last 16 clash with Nigeria
Keira Walsh could make a stunning return for England's last-16 World Cup clash against Nigeria.
After being taken off the pitch on a stretcher late in the first half of the Lionesses' victory over Denmark on 28 July, there were fears that Walsh's tournament would be over. However, scans have showed that her knee injury was not as bad as first thought.
Before England went to Brisbane in preparation for the knockout match, the 26-year-old took another step forward in her recuperation when she joined her team-mates in training at the Central Coast Stadium on the eve of their last-16 matchup.
England boss Sarina Wiegman said: "She is doing well. She started her rehab straight after we knew what was going on.
"She has been on the pitch, she has been training today. Now we will wait until we see how she recovers from that training session and if she does well then she is available tomorrow."
The Dutch boss, who led the Netherlands to the World Cup final four years ago in France, would not reveal specifically what injury Walsh had sustained, but did add: "I can only say that there wasn't a ligament injury.
"Of course that moment in that game against Denmark, that was a very hard moment, but after the assessments and we knew what was going on we also said don't take any assumptions.
"Just wait until a proper assessment has been done. That's what we did and then we got the green light to just get her rehab started.
"Everybody is going on about injuries all the time, but the day after we noticed things were much better."
Before this competition, European champions Leah Williamson and Beth Mead were unable to compete due to that injury, and Fran Kirby underwent surgery for a different knee problem.
Following Walsh's injury, Wiegman continued to use the Lionesses' standard 4-3-3 formation and substituted Manchester City's Laura Coombs for the remainder of the 1-0 victory over Denmark.
However, against China, Wiegman gave Manchester United captain Katie Zelem her first England start and switched to a 3-5-2, which paid off with a crushing 6-1 victory.
The reigning champions USA were knocked out earlier today and England supporters are starting to get excited as the Lionesses' continue to progress.
PE teacher in Preston - Beth Goodwin - is hoping a succesful campaign for the Three Lions will further enhance the reputation of womens football and inspire her students.
"We're starting to see more girls getting involved and wanting to play football and a lot of that is down the Euro's win last year.
"It's becoming more acceptable for females to want to play football in our lessons and there should really be a girls football team in every school.
"There is obviously still a long way to go but bringing home the World Cup, something the lads haven't done in such a long time would help bring more respect to the sport."
Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum is confident in his plan for however England line up, with or without Walsh.
He said: "Obviously, she's a key player in the midfield for them. Kind of like we had to do for Australia and Sam Kerr, we had to prepare with and without, we have to do the same.
"England has so many weapons. All of those players are playing all over the world in high profile settings. There are more that can do damage to us than just her. They've given us a lot of challenges to prepare for and it will just be another one if she comes in.
"We have to prepare for both, as a coach I would expect her to go with a back three because they played ever so well like that.
"We also know they're going to adapt to how they can best play against us so we have to prepare for both situations, that's what makes the job challenging because we don't have a lot of time. We've tried this week to prepare for both and we'll see which way they come out.
"Sarina Wiegman has done a fantastic job with England, since she took over you can see the progression of the team.
"When I look at a coach and try to analyse, if I don't know them personally, you look at the team and tell if they have an idea. In their organisation, they look like they have a plan and a way they want to play."