Beth Mead is set to make her England comeback next week after being recalled to the Lionesses squad on Tuesday.
The Arsenal forward has not played for England in over a year and missed the World Cup in the summer after suffering a serious knee injury last November.
But Mead is back in the squad for crucial upcoming Nations League games against the Netherlands and Scotland.
England are third in Group A1, one point behind Belgium in second and three off leaders the Dutch.
They host the Netherlands at Wembley a week on Friday before travelling to Scotland four days later, with only the group winners going forward to the semi-finals in February.
England must make the final, or finish third and hope France do, to secure Team GB a spot at next summer’s Paris Olympics.
The return of Mead is a major boost for the Lionesses, who have struggled in recent matches.
Sarina Wiegman’s side lost 3-2 to Belgium last time out, conceding three goals in a match for the first time in her 43-game reign.
The Lionesses have lost three of their last five games and their attack has struggled.
Mead will help solve that issue. The 28-year-old was top scorer when England won Euro 2022 and finished second in the Ballon d’Or that year.
She made her first Women’s Super League (WSL) start of the season last weekend, playing 64 minutes as Arsenal beat Brighton 3-0.
Wiegman has opted to name 23 players for the two matches and there is no place for goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck, who has lost her place at Manchester City to Khiara Keating.
Keating, who earned her first call-up for last month’s double-header with Belgium, has kept her place in the squad and so has midfielder Grace Clinton, who is on loan at Tottenham from Manchester United.
