Sarina Wiegman insists she simply could not want to risk Beth Mead after the Arsenal forward missed out on a place in England's World Cup squad.
Mead, still recovering from an ACL injury, won't feature as the Lionesses bid to win back-to-back major tournaments, missing out on the 23-player squad. Wiegman has selected Millie Bright and Lucy Bronze, who were both injury doubts, but has decided to leave out Mead who has not played since November.
The Lionesses' star won the Player of the Tournament award at Euro 2022 as well as the Golden Boot, as England stormed to European glory. But Wiegman has instead chosen Lauren James, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly and Katie Robinson as her wide forward options this time around.
