Fran Kirby has praised England manager Sarina Wiegman for her honest and "special" communication while the Chelsea star's availability for Euro 2022 was in doubt.
Kirby missed three months of action towards the end of the season due to an illness that was causing extreme fatigue.
But having returned to action and been named in England's squad for the Euros on home soil, the 28-year-old opened up on her conversations with Wiegman while she had stepped away from the game.
"Obviously, it's going to be in the back of my mind. But for me, right now, I want to make sure that I'm feeling confident going into the Euros," said Kirby.
"Leading into it I had loads of conversations with Sarina on the phone in terms of how I was feeling and how I was doing.
"She always made me feel confident in terms of if you get yourself right, then I want you to be part of the squad.
"And for me, as a player to hear that when you're not playing, it's really nice and it's really special to hear.
"When I speak about her honesty, I said to her, I need you to be honest, if you don't think I'm ready, then you tell me that.
"I wouldn't want to be part of the squad if you didn't feel that I was ready to participate or to give something to the team.
"When she said that I was in the squad, it just reaffirmed the confidence that she has in me to make a difference.
"She's been great. She's really brought this togetherness in the squad, she makes everyone feel like they're respected and that their voices are heard.
"She's just brought this honest nature, in terms of dealing with difficult conversations when they have to be had.
"And she also makes people feel good, she makes you feel confident in your ability, she makes you feel like you're valued in the team and that's important when you're going into a tournament."
Kirby had previously been ruled out for much of the 2019-20 season with pericarditis, a condition affecting the fluid sac around the heart.
England beat Belgium 3-0 in their first warm-up game for the Euros last week, with Kirby coming off the bench in the second half.
"I'm feeling really good, feeling healthy and I've been able to participate in all the training sessions and be a part of them," added Kirby.
"For me, now, I'm not really thinking about much what has happened previously, because I just want to make sure that I'm focusing on the here and now and focusing on my performance in training.
"I have to show that I'm ready to go and that I'm ready to play and I've been able to do that in the last few weeks."
Friendlies against the Netherlands and Switzerland are up next before England begin their Euro 2022 campaign against Austria on July 6.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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