‘It was time to put health first’: Chelsea and England’s Fran Kirby ruled out for ‘foreseeable future’

Chelsea and England forward Fran Kirby says “it was time to put health first” after her club manager Emma Hayes said she would be ruled out for the “foreseeable future” due to fatigue.

Kirby has not played since February and Hayes said Chelsea had been unable to determine the cause of the issue which has kept her sidelined for club and country after confirming she would not be available to face Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-finals this weekend.

Last year’s Women’s Super League player of the season missed the majority of the previous campaign after she was diagnosed with pericarditis but had returned to top form. With a home European Championships to come in July, Kirby is a key player for England after starring in Chelsea’s treble-winning campaign last season.

“I’m sad that I have to write to you all another message like this,” Kirby said in a message posted on Twitter. “With this being an on-going issue throughout my career, it was time to put my health first. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to message, I’m doing everything to try and come back once again.”

Kirby last featured during England’s Arnold Clark Cup victory two months ago - in which she scored in England’s final win over Germany - and was not included in Sarina Wiegman’s squad for the recent World Cup qualifiers against North Macedonia and Northern Ireland.

Instead, the 28-year-old remained with Chelsea to work on her recovery, but speaking ahead of the club’s match against Arsenal on Sunday, Hayes confirmed that Kirby would not be available.

“No, there’s no chance of her playing at the weekend,” Hayes said. “She’s been taking some time in the background, she’s been suffering with a lot of fatigue. I don’t have a definitive reason why that is, we don’t know.

“But we’re trying to get to the bottom of it and taking the time we can to try and find the right solutions for Fran, because this is something that’s been ongoing, and unfortunately, until we get to the bottom of it, Fran won’t be available for selection.”

Hayes did not give a timescale on a potential return, adding when asked: “I think, forget the athlete, just a human being, and she’s struggling and we have to get to the bottom of that. I don’t think Fran will be available for club and country until that happens.

“I’m not withholding, because I don’t have anything to tell you, because we haven’t got to the bottom of it and until we get to the bottom of it and until we understand some of the underlying reasons for that fatigue, I’d just be speculating. So we’re going through a process of elimination to try and determine why she’s struggling.

“We need to give the time to find the right support so that we can come up with a diagnosis and then with diagnosis, you can come up with strategies. So right now, I don’t have any answers. What I know is that she’s not available for club or country and she won’t be for the foreseeable future.”