Blow to Chelsea's WSL & UWCL hopes? Millie Bright suffers 'setback' in injury recovery as Emma Hayes provides update

Bright has been out of action since November as she has been grappling with a persistent knee injury that saw her stay out of action in the final two months of the 2022-23 season. Despite her absence, Chelsea have maintained their dominance in the Women's Super League, currently leading the table with 40 points, ahead of their closest rivals Manchester City on goal difference.

"Millie, (will) not (be back) before the international break," Hayes said.

"She had a little setback, little bit of inflammation, she’s had to build a little bit more muscle above her knee, and that muscle work has to be done in the gym.

"Sometimes when you just do it on the pitch [but] you don’t do gym work, you can manage part of the load, (but she) doesn’t have enough muscle definition so she’s working on that in the background and I think that she’ll be ready… I don’t know when she’s gonna be ready but I hope she’ll be after international break."

In addition to Bright's absence, Chelsea face uncertainty regarding the availability of defender Nathalie Bjorn and striker Mayra Ramirez. Bjorn is considered "50/50" to feature in the upcoming clash against West Ham United following a calf injury, while Ramirez remains in contention after missing the team's last three fixtures.

Bright can potentially return against Manchester United on April 14 in the FA Women's Cup semifinal. This means that the defender will miss the next three fixtures including the WSL fixture against West Ham, the UEFA Women's Champions League second-leg clash against Ajax and the FA WSL Cup against Arsenal.