Barca boss plays down Bronze's knee injury and says 'the feeling is good'

Barcelona women's boss Jonatan Giraldez has played down fears that Lucy Bronze could be the latest England World Cup injury casualty.

Bronze went down clutching her knee during the second half of the Women's Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

The former Ballon d'Or winner appeared to be suffering with a knee issue after playing a routine pass to one of her Barca teammates.

Bronze hit the deck off the ball in a great deal of pain and was immediately seen to by the Barcelona medical staff with the scores standing at 1-0 in favour of the visitors. The 31-year-old was helped off the pitch by the club's physios after 67 minutes on the clock and looked devastated as she hobbled towards the tunnel.

However, following the match Girladez gave the Lionesses a boost by declaring the injury wasn't as bad as first feared.

'She felt something in her knee. She’s fine, but in the moment we made the sub because it was bad, but right now the feeling is really good.'

Barcelona held on to their lead for the remaining half an hour of play in Bronze's absence and will carry their 1-0 advantage into the second leg of the semi-final in Catalonia on Thursday.

There was concern Bronze would join a growing list of England regulars who are currently suffering with knee injuries with the World Cup just around the corner.

England captain Leah Williamson was ruled out of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand after rupturing her ACL in Arsenal's most recent WSL game against Manchester United.

Beth Mead has also been recovering from a cruciate ligament injury since November and faces a race against the clock to be fit in time for the World Cup.

Barcelona's opponents Chelsea also have a pair of England regulars out with knee issues, as Millie Bright and Fran Kirby were both sidelined in recent weeks.

From the team that started against Germany in the Euro 2022 final at Wembley, five players are now currently out with knee troubles.

Sarina Wiegman is faced with a selection crisis and now desperately needs a series of Plan Bs if England are to make their mark on the World Cup.