The Arsenal defender was forced to skip England's first run to a World Cup final two summers ago in Australia after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that April, and she is now relishing the opportunity to lead the Lionesses in another major tournament after captaining the 2022 European champions to their first major silverware.

Sarina Wiegman’s defending champions step into the unknown at Euro 2025 with a crunch opening match against France

Lauren James, who was a major doubt ahead of Sarina Wiegman’s squad selection, played her first match since April when she came on as a 63rd minute substitute in Sunday’s pre-tournament friendly — a 7-0 thrashing of Jamaica. And Wiegman said James could even start when the Lionesses kick off their title defense against France on Saturday in Zurich.