Kelly and Kirby ruled out of England friendly with Switzerland

Chloe Kelly and Fran Kirby will miss England’s friendly with Switzerland on Tuesday, manager Sarina Wiegman has confirmed.

Forward Kelly will be absent due to concussion protocols, while midfielder Kirby is absent with a calf problem.

Both players were brought on as substitutes in England’s goalless draw with the United States at Wembley on Saturday.

Speaking ahead of the showdown with Switzerland at Bramall Lane, Wiegman revealed she intends to rotate her side.

Millie Bright, an unused substitute last time out, is one of those who will get game time in Sheffield.

“It was a hard decision,” Wiegman told BBC Sport on her decision not to use Brighton against USA.

“We’ve played four defenders the most in the last period so I chose to balance it out against USA.

“Of course, that’s very hard for Millie. Against Switzerland she will play and I’m happy that she is fit and can take that opportunity.”

Last time the #Lionesses played at Bramall Lane!

Sealing our spot in the #WEURO2022 FINAL pic.twitter.com/ZWf0OX4ykl

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) December 2, 2024

England are unbeaten in 11 previous meetings with Switzerland, winning all but one of those.

The Lionesses have only faced Finland (13 times) and Northern Ireland (12 times) more often without ever losing in their history.

However, Wiegman is expecting a difficult contest against a side ranked 25th in the world – some 23 places below England.

“I think they will be hard to break down,” Wiegman said. “They play in a really compact way but are not scared to get in behind quickly. We have warned about those situations.”

This will be England’s fourth game at Bramall Lane, having won each of the previous three by an aggregate score of 11-0.