Kyra Walsh (right) was sprained due to a suspected knee injury during England's 1-0 victory over Denmark. Photo: Getty Images/Cameron Spencer
Sarina Wigman didn't want to think about the question, let alone answer it. How is England coping without midfielder Kira Walsh?
No player has been more important to the Lionesses since Wigman took over than the most expensive player in the world, signed by Barcelona for £400,000 following England's European Championship triumph last summer.
No player has played for England for more than a minute. since the Euros.
No midfielder dictates the rhythm of the game better.
No team is built around one player who links defense with attack.
No person is more integral to the style with which a team attempts to harm an opponent than the one who was blown away in the first half of England's narrow World Cup victory over Denmark, the one who cried «It's over, it's over» in tears to her fellow teammate. Lucy Bronze's team.
Walsh may miraculously recover, but she had a brace on her leg and left the stadium on crutches. Seconds after she sprained her knee, she signaled to the England bench and said: «I hurt my knee…». Usually the player knows better.
Even if Walsh did not injure her anterior cruciate ligament, the likelihood of her playing in this tournament again seems unlikely. Even a medial ligament injury would have knocked her out for weeks.
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Until we know for sure until a scan is done, but it's time for everyone to face the fact that if England going to win the World Cup, England will have to do it without their best player.
«There was no plan B» in case England lost to Walsh in the Euro, said former Liones striker Ellen White of the BBC studio. “Everything (came) from Keira. We appreciated it so much that our whole game went through it … I just don't know who will fill this void. She was the key cog, everything moved through her.”
Veteran Laura Coombs had to fill those boots against Denmark. She was doing well, but England clung to victory over the good side, not the great. Much more serious tests are expected.
England did their job in Sydney, as they did against Haiti in Brisbane. They almost made it out of their group with a spare game, but now they need to come up with a plan.
Perhaps there is already a clue. How to replace the irreplaceable? Probably best not to even try.
England have no other player like Walsh. No one on this team can play like her or do what she does.
Wigman won't sleep well. Just like her coaching team. But they will have to come up with a solution, if not for China on Tuesday then for their round of 16 game in Brisbane in just over a week.
Head coach Sarina Wigman is facing difficult decisions ahead of England's third World Cup group match against China. Photo: PA/Zac Goodwin
There's time to work on things on the training ground, but instead of getting stuck on the seemingly impossible task of finding someone to play Walsh, maybe it would be better to find a new way of playing, a different approach. completely.
Instead of building patiently through the midfield, could England have been more direct and spread the game from defenders to wingers? Of course, it would be wise to mix things up rather than emulate the system that each opposing team analyzed and planned to counteract — with a weaker version of Walsh pulling the strings.
Could they line up with a deep-set defense ? a player who does not go forward, but sits in front of the defense and gives Lucy Bronze even more opportunities to attack on the flanks or move to the center.
There are other alternatives as well. How about a 4-4-2 formation with Rachel Daley up front along with Alessia Russo and two hardcore wingers in Chloe Kelly and Lauren James throwing them wide?
None of this is perfect, but tournament football happens rarely. At this point, Wigman was understandably shy. Her tone, however, was uncharacteristically grumpy, and her responses unusually brusque and short.
She almost certainly knows what's going to happen next. The Walsh Tournament is over. Now Wigman must try to find a way to make sure England doesn't end prematurely.
The extent of Walsh's injury has not been disclosed. The Football Association has made it clear that there will be no update until Saturday. Everything, at least in public, is on hold, although the crisis meetings will already be taking place backstage.
“Of course, I’m worried because she couldn’t leave the field,” Wigman said. “But we don’t know yet, so we can’t make any assumptions. Let's just wait until we really have a diagnosis and then we can tell you.
“You saw what we did, [Georgia] Stanway came back and Laura walked in. Yes, of course, we had to find our feet a bit… you saw the different stages.
“We really dominated the first half. Then Kira left, and we had to adapt to the situation. In the second half, they [Denmark] also had such a direct style of play. We also showed that we can fight. The team showed real resilience. We kept the score 1-0 so it was really good and I'm really proud of the team.”
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