Fran Kirby announces temporary break from football

Chelsea and England forward Fran Kirby has announced on social media that she is taking a temporary break from football in order to “put her health first”.

The 28-year-old hasn’t featured at club or international level since February this year and after announcing on Twitter that she is taking a break to put her “health first”, it looks unlikely she will feature for Chelsea for the rest of the WSL season and it’s highly likely she will miss the Euros with England in the summer.

Ahead of her side’s FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal last Sunday, boss Emma Hayes was asked about Kirby’s recent absence in the league. She told Sky Sports:

“No chance of her playing at the weekend. She’s been taking some time in the background, 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. This is something that’s been ongoing and unfortunately until we get to the bottom of it Fran won’t be available for selection.”

During the 2020/21 season Kirby was named player of the year. She played 18 of Chelsea’s 22 games, during these games she scored 16 goals and bagged 11 assists. Therefore, making her the deserved player of the season winner. She was outstanding.

She has also been a very key figure for The Lionesses over the last few years. In their most recent campaign she scored eight goals and bagged herself 16 assists in the 2205 minutes she played.

This season in the WSL out of Chelsea’s 18 games played so far, Kirby has featured in 13 of them. She has only missed her side’s last five league games as well as some important cup fixtures.

In the 13 games she has featured in this season for The Blues she has scored six goals and bagged herself six assists. Chelsea have still been doing well without her as they’ve won their last five WSL games despite not having Fran in the side.

But for the end of season run in she will be a big miss for boss Emma Hayes and her teammates.

Linking on from being a miss for Chelsea, she will also be a big miss for The Lionesses this summer. Her last appearance for the team came when they faced Germany in the Arnold Clark Cup in February.

Her last minute goal at Molineux secured new boss Sarina Wiegman her first title since taking charge of the national side in September last year. However, for the Euros this summer it’s looking likely Wiegman will have to pick a player who can hopefully bring the pace, power and flare of Kirby into the team.

Fran will be a big miss for the rest of the WSL season and the Euros but, her health is more important than anything else in this world. This is why we all wish her a speedy recovery and we can all look forward to seeing her light up the pitch again sometime soon.

I’m sad that I have to write to you all another message like this ?. 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 ??❤️ pic.twitter.com/uOvCi0MITh

— Fran Kirby (@frankirby) April 15, 2022

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