Laura Coombs named in England’s 26-player squad for Arnold Clark Cup

Laura Coombs has been included in England’s 26-player squad for this month’s Arnold Clark Cup.

The two-cap Manchester City midfielder, who signed a two-year contract extension with the club on Tuesday, returns to the England fold having last been involved in November 2020, and last played for the team in 2015.

Uncapped goalkeeper Emily Ramsey, on loan at Everton from Manchester United, is also called up, and Chelsea defender Jess Carter is recalled.

There is no place among the forwards for United’s Nikita Parris, or Bethany England following her January switch from Chelsea to Tottenham.

Midfielder Jordan Nobbs, who moved from Arsenal to Aston Villa last month, is another not included, along with Everton’s Gabby George and City’s Esme Morgan.

Skipper Leah Williamson is back after injury, as are Lucy Bronze, Lauren Hemp and Lotte Wubben-Moy, and Fran Kirby returns after illness. Beth Mead misses out due to her ACL injury.

European champions England, who won the inaugural Arnold Clark Cup a year ago, open this campaign and their fixtures for 2023 by playing South Korea in Milton Keynes a week on Thursday.

The Lionesses then face Italy in Coventry three days later, followed by Belgium in Bristol another three days after that as they continue to build towards the summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

England boss Sarina Wiegman said: “The first camp of the year is always important to set the right tone for what comes next, especially with such a big opportunity in the summer.

“We are only looking forward now and we have to stay humble and focused on working hard. We know the fans will be with us again and we can’t wait to see them at every stadium.

“We had a positive experience with the Arnold Clark Cup last time. We had three tough matches with different challenges in each one, and we were able to learn a lot from our performances and work on many details which we are aiming to do again.”

England squad: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Sandy MacIver (Manchester City), Emily Ramsey (Everton, on loan from Manchester United), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City), Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal),  Laura Coombs (Manchester City), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Jessica Park (Everton, on loan from Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Katie Robinson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Alessia Russo (Manchester United), Ebony Salmon (Houston Dash).