Millie Bright sent injury recovery warning by Chelsea boss Emma Hayes as Lionesses defender returns to England squad for first time in seven months

Bright was recalled to the England setup by Sarina Wiegman on Tuesday morning ahead of four upcoming Euro 2025 qualifiers in May, June and July. It will mark her first international action since withdrawing from the squad in late November. Club boss Hayes shared her advice to the Chelsea player a few hours later.

Speaking at a press conference before Chelsea's midweek WSL clash with Tottenham, Hayes said: "I will often say to the players that you have to put your career first and Millie was putting her body in a situation where, if she didn’t look after it…careers are short. I advised her to really prioritise a little longer term instead of just constantly playing in pain. That's been tough for her, a long time out, and hasn't been smooth running.

"That's why I think probably most managers get frustrated when [journalists] ask, 'Who's injured?' and we say, 'They are and it might be a week'. All of a sudden it’s three weeks or four weeks, or a month, or two months. It's not because we play games with you, this is the nature of what happens coming back from rehab and Millie's was certainly not straightforward.

"I'm happy for her that she's back [but] I still think she has to build progressively. It's a testament to her character, she's always been a leader in our dressing room and one that's given everything to Chelsea and everything to me in my time here."

Having nursed a knee problem in the closing stages of last season that made her a doubt for the World Cup, Bright played her last game for more than five months when Chelsea drew 2-2 against Real Madrid in the Champions League on November 15. At one point, the 30-year-old even questioned whether she still had a career. But Bright returned for the final six minutes of the semi-final second leg against Barcelona on April 27 and has started each of Chelsea's WSL fixtures - against Liverpool and Bristol City - since.

If Chelsea beat Tottenham on Wednesday and then Manchester United on Saturday, they will likely win a fifth consecutive WSL title, unless Manchester City can beat Aston Villa and orchestrate a goal-difference swing. For Bright, it would be her seventh since joining in 2014, as it would be Hayes, who is leaving the club for the USWNT job.