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England forward Lauren James will miss the Women\u2019s Nations League double-header against Belgium because of concussion.<\/p>\n
The Lionesses play the first of their two-parter at Leicester on Friday but the Chelsea player will not be involved as she goes through the relevant protocols after suffering a head injury.<\/p>\n
Lotte Wubben-Moy trained on Thursday and could be involved in the squad at the King Power Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have 25 players, but they are not all fit,\u201d boss Sarina Wiegman said. \u201cUnfortunately, Lauren James is not ready, she won\u2019t be ready for Tuesday also.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing to worry about, she picked up a concussion and she knows we have to be careful of the protocols that we always do, so that is just too short to be ready for the two games.<\/p>\n
\u201cLotte is on the pitch and we will assess her today, everyone else is good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Belgium currently top Group A1 of the Women\u2019s Nations League with four points from their opening two games while England suffered a last-gasp defeat against the Netherlands in September.<\/p>\n
That loss places an importance on the two games against the Belgians and Wiegman, who celebrated her 54th birthday on Thursday, wants a response.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always want to win, and expectations are high but we have our own expectations too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course we lost the last game, we were not happy with that and we want to bounce back. What we are working on is improving our game, doing things right and playing very well against Belgium and getting a result.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are really competing for something in the Nations League. They are in a very different situation at the moment, they play with different shape, with different players and are in transition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are very competitive, very well organised and as they showed in September they are very hard to beat.\u201d<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CxsomAjsQBA<\/p>\n
Goalkeeper Mary Earps will get the chance to play at Leicester, where she began her youth career.<\/p>\n
Her profile has raised exponentially on the back of the Lionesses\u2019 success in recent years, culminating in replica goalkeeper\u2019s shirts selling out after her World Cup exploits in the summer.<\/p>\n
The Lionesses have always been accessible to fans but Earps thinks there is now a tipping point given their elevated status.<\/p>\n
\u201cExpectation of the team is obviously a huge compliment in terms of the way teams expect us to win and things like that,\u201d the Manchester United keeper said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe accessibility people get to us as players is a hot topic of discussion, it\u2019s something we as players are experiencing in a very different way in terms of the way the profile is changing.<\/p>\n
They are very competitive, very well organised and as they showed in September they are very hard to beat<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love to interact with the fans, but it is becoming difficult to keep everyone happy and to interact with as many people as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are so grateful that thousands and thousands of people want to come and meet us and talk to us but the reality is that if that is the expectation then we are always going to fall short.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the emphasis on it needs to switch. We love that we can be so connected but we are subject to a lot of comments and at times it is an addition to the game we don\u2019t need. We love it but it is becoming difficult to maintain that.\u201d<\/p>\n