The playmaker scored on her first Lionesses start since last October, completing another remarkable comeback after missing the Women's World Cup
There wasn’t a great deal for England to cheer about in Belgium on Tuesday. The Lionesses were sloppy, conceded three goals for the first time under Sarina Wiegman and suffered a defeat that took their UEFA Women’s Nations League and Olympic destinies out of their own hands. But there was still one really big positive from an otherwise difficult camp – the return of Fran Kirby.
Over a year since her last appearance in her country’s colours, the playmaking midfielder came off the bench on Friday in Leicester, and four days later she marked her first start for England since last October with a brilliantly taken goal that briefly gave the Lionesses the lead in Leuven.
The smile on Kirby’s face said it all, as did the glee with which her team-mates approached her to celebrate once the net had rippled. For someone who has been through injury hell this year, a knee problem forcing her to miss the summer’s Women’s World Cup, this meant so much.
Patience is going to be so important with Kirby given the length of time she has been out for, but after a promising start to the new season, this was the biggest reminder yet of what she can offer as she works her way back to her best level.
That’ll certainly be a comforting thought for an England side in a desperate situation in the Nations League, and it will have whet the appetite of all those associated with Chelsea, too, with the Blues’ chances of a fifth-successive Women’s Super League – and success beyond that – only to be increased by their No.14 being fit and firing.
Regardless of your nationality or which club you follow, if you love football then Kirby’s return is good news for you, too. Because to watch the fleet-footed forward in full flow is pure joy.
GettyOn top of the world
No season better illustrated what Kirby is all about quite like 2020-21. Forming the deadliest of partnerships with Sam Kerr, the pair ran defences ragged to help Chelsea clinch a domestic treble for the first time in a season that also saw them reach their first Women’s Champions League final.
In the WSL, she racked up 16 goals and 11 assists in just 18 games. In the FA Cup final, she broke the deadlock and teed up Kerr to double the lead over Arsenal. In the Continental Cup final, she was involved in all six of Chelsea’s goals in their thrashing of Bristol City. She was absolutely unstoppable.
But there’s another layer that makes these feats all the more impressive. In the previous season, Kirby was diagnosed with pericarditis, a heart disease which would keep her away from the game she loves for nine months. She even wondered whether she’d ever play again. To come back in such fashion, then, was absolutely incredible.
“She's been instrumental in the history we have created here,” her manager, Emma Hayes, said. “Her relentless pursuit of excellence and winning, two things I love the most, have meant that she strives for more all of the time – not even more, she just strives for better. I think that's been mirrored by who she has grown into as a person. She'll probably say the same, Chelsea and Fran Kirby are a perfect match, in every way, shape and form.
“This is probably, for me, her proudest achievement, this season, because to recover after what she went through and to produce even better performances, you have to have unbelievable character to do that, and she's shown it day in, day out.”
AdvertisementGettyCan’t catch a break
But sadly that story of having to battle back and overcome some kind of obstacle is a familiar one for Kirby. After the pericarditis, and that amazing season, she was plagued by extreme fatigue that almost prevented her from being able to help England win the European Championships in the summer of 2022.
And then, earlier this year, came the knee injury. Kirby has had pain in her knee – and problems with it – since she was 12 years old, but the feeling she had on February 9, in Chelsea’s Conti Cup win over West Ham, was different.
As each week passed, Hayes was asked in every press conference about Kirby, how she was doing and when she would be back. The answers were vague, without much information of a timeframe, and that’s because the situation was changing so much.
When it felt like she was making progress, Kirby would then be hit with a setback. This went on and on for three months until, in early May, she announced that she would be undergoing surgery to fix the issue. It meant she would miss the Women’s World Cup.
"Unfortunately after a few months of rehab the decision has been made that I will require surgery on my knee," Kirby posted on Instagram. "I have been trying my best to not have to undergo this, but unfortunately my progress has been limited due to the issue in my knee. I'm absolutely gutted to announce that this means my season is over and I will not be able to make the World Cup in the summer.”
Getty'First time in 18 years that I haven’t had pain'
While that meant Kirby couldn’t play her part in the Lionesses’ historic run to the final in Australia, it was by far and away the best decision she could’ve made.
“I couldn’t walk down the stairs, I couldn’t do normal things, couldn’t take the dog for a walk,” she told in September. “The first month was really hard because those things were taken away from me. If I can’t walk my dogs and I go home and I have to get up in the night to take painkillers because [I’m] getting woken up by [my] knee, it’s not a life. It got to the stage where I knew my knee was impacting my life. I had to fix it.
“I knew I was going to miss the World Cup but, for me, it wasn’t about that anymore. If I had surgery and it didn’t go well, at least I knew I’d be able to walk my dogs. If I can’t play anymore, at least I tried.
“I had a tripartite patella, which means that I had two pieces of bone that were connected by tissue, but they weren’t actually connected to my patella bone. I had those pieces of bone removed. A few days later, I had no pain in my knee. It was literally like the pain had just been taken away. That was a really nice moment, probably the first time in 18 years that I haven’t had pain.”
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GettyPromising signs
Taking such a decision, which will have certainly been difficult even if Kirby’s comments suggest she was thinking very clearly when she did so, is now paying dividends. It meant she could get a full pre-season under her belt, and the way she’s built on that has been quietly impressive in the opening weeks of the new campaign.
Despite only starting two of Chelsea’s first four league games, racking up just 172 minutes of a possible 360, Kirby ranks in the top five in the Blues’ squad for chances created, successful passes in the final third, dribbles completed, possession won – generally and in the final third – and for touches in the opposition’s box. That’s not a bad start from someone who Hayes is keen to stress is still “building”.
Kirby’s goal for England this week was the moment that really underlined all the good work she’s been doing. Having gone towards Lauren Hemp on the left wing for a pass, she quickly realised the better option was for her to drop off to the edge of the box to receive a cutback, and Hemp did brilliantly to disguise her intentions, not even looking at Kirby but knowing exactly where she was when she teed her up to finish.
A first goal from an England midfielder in five games, it was a reminder of what the Chelsea star brings to the table for the Lionesses.