Injuries to Georgia Stanway, Ruby Mace and Laura Blindkilde Brown mean the European champions might need to assess new options ahead of the summerWith little over three months until their European title defence begins, England’s midfield is not in a good place. The Lionesses have lacked depth in that area for a while now, especially in the deeper roles that have long been held down by Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway. It has been far from ideal, then, to be hit hard by injuries in the middle of the park since the turn of the year.Stanway underwent knee surgery in late January, throwing her ability to participate in this summer’s tournament into doubt. Bayern Munich said the midfielder will be out for ‘several months’ and while Sarina Wiegman is “hopeful” that the 26-year-old can be back fit in time for the Euros, it’s unclear just how much she’ll be able to play beforehand, if that is indeed the case.Given the lack of natural options behind Stanway in the No.8 role, her absence already made midfield a problematic area for England in their last camp. Ahead of their April fixtures, though, things are worse. Ruby Mace, the promising young holding midfielder who made her senior Lionesses debut in December, suffered a knee ligament injury earlier this month that doesn’t require surgery, but will sideline her for a while. Then, on Sunday, it was confirmed that Laura Blindkilde Brown, another youngster who debuted in December, will miss the rest of the season due to an ankle problem.None of these players are certain to be back ahead of the Euros, meaning it’s imperative for Wiegman to look at other options in midfield ahead of the tournament. She’s already starting to do that, as evidenced by Maisie Symonds’ maiden call-up earlier this week. Who else could get an opportunity to impress before the Lionesses head to Switzerland? GOAL picks out six names who could potentially be looked at…
