Could Millie Bright miss the World Cup for England? Emma Hayes gives worrying injury update ahead of Chelsea's Champions League clash with Barcelona

• Bright still sidelined with a knee injury
• No return date set
• World Cup starts in July

WHAT HAPPENED? Hayes has confirmed that Bright will not play against Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League on Saturday, adding that the Chelsea captain is still some way away from making her return to action after suffering a knee injury.

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WHAT THEY SAID: "No Millie Bright. She’s had a clean out in her knee. Millie will be out for weeks, I can’t say how many," Hayes told reporters. "Kadeisha Buchanan will not be available for this game. She’ll be out for weeks."

AND WHAT'S MORE: Hayes also expressed her disappointment at seeing England captain Leah Williamson ruled out of the World Cup after suffering an ACL injury.

"Disappointing to see such a huge injury again. I’ve said this many times. It will take too long to go through everything I think about ACLs," she added. "We need to stay away from lazy comments about these injuries. It’s multi-faceted. There's a lot of reasons why these injuries happen, today is not the place to discuss it."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Bright has been pictured on crutches but tried to play down fears about her injury by posting on social media: "I'm on the mend, back soon." However, Hayes' comments suggest Bright could be facing a race against time to be fit for the World Cup which would be another huge blow to England, particularly after already seeing Williamson forced out of the tournament.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? Chelsea host Barcelona in the first leg of their semi-final tie on Saturday, with the return at the Camp Nou scheduled for Thursday, April 27. The winners will play either Arsenal or Wolfsburg in the final.