Rachel Daly, Abbie McManus and Georgia Stanway have been drafted into the England squad for the SheBelieves Cup after Steph Houghton, Jordan Nobbs and Karen Carney had to withdraw, reports TheFA.com.
Daly, who plies her trade for Houston Dash, will join up with the Lionesses when they arrive in the United States on Sunday, ahead of next Thursday’s tournament opener against France in Columbus, Ohio.
England will then have matches against Germany in Harrison, New Jersey and the hosts in Orlando, Florida on 4 and 7 March respectively.
Man City duo McManus and Stanway, who have never featured in a senior Lionesses squad, both reported in London on Saturday.
Head coach Phil Neville has seized the opportunity to give the promising pair a chance to impress on the senior international stage, alongside Daly.
Neville said: “When I named the squad I mentioned there were some exciting players pushing hard for inclusion.
“While we are sorry to lose three experienced names, this is a brilliant opportunity for Rachel, Abbie and Georgia.
“It also means I get to see at first hand some of those who will be pushing the more established players for a place in our World Cup plans.”
Lionesses captain Houghton has yet to fully recover from an ankle knock picked up for City against Chelsea earlier this month, while the London club’s midfielder Carney will not travel as part of the ongoing management of an ankle problem.
With the resumption of World Cup qualifying looming in April, it was felt best to let Carney remain with her club rather than make the trip to the US.
Meanwhile, Nobbs will also stay behind with Arsenal along with club-mate Leah Williamson with both requiring treatment for knee issues. Williamson had been due to travel in addition to the 23-player selection as part of her England development.
With Williamson pulling out, Neville has turned to Manchester City’s Ellie Roebuck.
The England U19s goalkeeper will get the opportunity to gain invaluable experience on her own development pathway as a non-playing squad member during the US trip.
SheBelieves Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Karen Bardsley (Manchester City), Siobhan Chamberlain (Liverpool), Carly Telford (Chelsea).
Defenders: Anita Asante (Chelsea), Hannah Blundell (Chelsea), Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Lyon), Gabby George (Everton), Alex Greenwood (Liverpool), Abbie McManus* (Manchester City) Demi Stokes (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Isobel Christiansen (Manchester City), Jill Scott (Manchester City), Georgia Stanway** (Manchester City), Keira Walsh (Manchester City), Fara Williams (Reading).
Forwards: Rachel Daly*** (Houston Dash), Toni Duggan (Barcelona), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Melissa Lawley (Manchester City), Nikita Parris (Manchester City), Jodie Taylor (Melbourne City), Ellen White (Birmingham City).
* replaced Steph Houghton (Manchester City)
** replaced Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal)
*** replaced Karen Carney (Chelsea)
Three good choices for backup but I feel that Daly should have been in the squad from the start. Especially seeing as SBC is in the US. I think expectations have to be lowered now we’re without 2 of our best players (Houghton and Nobbs). That’s a lot of experience to lose. Plenty of good young players coming through, performances will be more important than results here. My main concern is how Neville will handle tactics in approach to transition, will we continue to press and counter or play a more possession based game. Thing is I’m not sure we have enough/ the right midfielders for the latter anyway. The midfield looks a bit short to me, we might need to play forwards out wide to compensate. Should be an interesting 3 games though!