Jordan Nobbs has returned to the England Women’s fold for the first time since the World Cup – and said she is ready to stamp her authority on the squad.
A complicated hamstring injury restricted the midfielder to just one appearance at Canada 2015, the 2-1 group stage win over Colombia in Montreal.
She made her comeback for Arsenal against Reading in August and scored twice in the Gunners’ Continental Cup Final win over Notts County earlier this month.
England v Bosnia & Herzegovina
UEFA Women’s Euro 2017
Group 7 qualifier
3.30pm, Sunday 29 November
Ashton Gate, Bristol City FC
Tickets priced £5 adults, £2.50 children
Nobbs was upset to miss out on most of the action as the Lionesses won bronze in the summer – but the 22-year-old believes she returns to the international scene as a much stronger character.
She said: “It will always be one of the hardest things I’ll have to deal with – but I don’t mean that in a selfish way because I am so proud of what we achieved and I wouldn’t have wanted to not be a part of it.
“But on a personal level, I was obviously really disappointed to have the injury. I felt like I could have made an impact at the tournament and I missed not being out on the pitch with the girls.
“I know I’m not the first player to get injured around the time of a tournament, and I won’t be the last. Steph [Houghton] missed out on two major tournaments when she was younger so I know that you can recover from setbacks like that.
“Hopefully there will be a lot more tournaments for me to make more of an impact. I want to be a major part of this squad and help us to keep on improving.”
She continued: “I have never needed any incentive to want to play for England, but being out injured for so long has given me even more of a desire to be involved again. It made me realise how much I’d miss it if it was taken away from me.
“The injury is behind me now. I’m fit and ready to go again. This is where I want to be.”
Nobbs missed out on England’s opening Euro qualifier, the 8-0 win in Estonia, and two friendly matches in China last month, against the hosts and Australia.
Nobbs has earned 22 England caps and scored three goals
But she is back in the frame for the next two matches – a friendly against European champions Germany on Thursday and a Euro qualifier on Sunday, against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Nobbs added: “To come back into the squad for a game against Germany is just incredible. These are the games you want to be a part of. We all want to play against the big teams.
“This is a massive test after the World Cup. We proved what we can do in Canada and we want to make people realise that that win wasn’t just a one-off, that we can beat the big teams regularly.”
And she can’t wait to get back in front of a home crowd for the first time since April for what promises to be a special occasion against Bosnia in Bristol.
She said: “Everyone loves playing at home and we love playing all around the country too.
“We want to show what we can do in front of a decent home crowd. We want to thank the fans for their support in the World Cup.”
Bosnia tickets are still available priced £5 for adults and £2.50 for children.
A family ticket (two adults and two children) is available at £10 and group booking discounts apply.
Tickets can be purchased via TheFA.com/Tickets or by calling 01179 630 600.
