Beth Mead admits not being included in England’s Women’s World Cup squad was “a tough pill to swallow” but is looking forward to cheering the Lionesses on throughout the tournament.

This year’s competition takes place in Australia and New Zealand, with Sarina Wiegman’s side kicking off their campaign against Haiti in Group D on July 22.

England will be without the injured Mead, who won the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament awards when they won the Euros last summer.

The Arsenal forward is continuing her recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained last November and knew the turnaround to make the squad would be tight.

“When I did my knee I knew time was probably going a little bit against me,” Mead told the PA news agency.

“But it was my motivator through my rehab and I can honestly look myself in the mirror and go ‘I’ve done everything possible to get close to that’.

“Sarina was incredible, in fact she had a lot of conversations with me, kept me in the loop with everything and she said she would’ve loved to have me there, but it was meant to be a bit too soon.

“It was a tough pill to swallow, it’s a big tournament and you want to be there, I was in good form before my injury and you want to continue that into the big tournaments again.

“It wasn’t meant to be this time, I believe everything happens for a reason, but I’m looking forward to watching the girls and being number one cheerleader back home.

“It’s just a little bit of a different role for me this year.”

England’s preparations for the World Cup continued at the weekend as they were held to a 0-0 draw against Portugal, but Mead believes the game has offered more learning opportunities for the team.

“I think that’s why you play these kinds of teams, Portugal are a good team, they have the quality,” she said.

“In these games when it doesn’t go quite right they tampered the systems, tampered with individuals and where they’re playing.

“You learn more from these games than going out there and winning 6-0 or 7-0 so I think it’s good learning and a good pinpoint for them to build on ready to go to the World Cup.”

Mead is an ambassador for the McDonald’s Fun Football programme, the largest grassroots programme in the UK for five to 11-year-olds, where 250,000 children have had access to free football in the last 12 months.

She will be cheering England on from home as she continues to work her way back to fitness in time for the new Women’s Super League season.

The Lionesses star admits there have been “pros and cons” to recovering alongside her partner and Arsenal team-mate Vivianne Miedema, who also sustained an ACL injury just weeks after Mead.

Mead said: “Some days I want to absolutely rip her head off because she’s a pain in the bum and other days we understand what each other’s going through and we can help push each other through.

“I’m a month ahead of Viv, I’ve kind of been there and wore the t-shirt of what she’s doing now.

“I know when there’s days where things become difficult I can help her with or when I know how happy she is.

“She ran for the first time this week and she’s had a few complications so I know how amazing that day felt for her because a month earlier I’d just done it.”

The England forward is now relishing a long-awaited return to football and getting back to work with the Gunners next season.

“It’ll be very exciting to get on a pitch again but I’m excited to play alongside the girls again, getting involved,” she added.

“You find a new appreciation for football when you’ve been kept out of it for nine months.”

::Beth Mead was speaking at the largest ever McDonald’s Fun Football session to celebrate the landmark of over 250,000 children across the UK benefiting from access to free football this season. Sign up to a free session near you at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football

England boss Sarina Wiegman says she was not prepared to take the risks with Beth Mead’s fitness after leaving her out of her squad for this summer’s World Cup.

Mead, who claimed the Golden Boot and player of the tournament award when the Lionesses won the Euros last summer, misses out after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in November.

Asked if there was ever a chance the Arsenal winger could have been in the squad, Wiegman told a press conference: “No, I don’t think so.

“Beth is so positive and she’s going really well, but we said the time schedule she had, we would have taken so many risks to try to get her to the World Cup.

“Very early we said we’re not going to take that risk, I’m not willing to take that risk, to push her too much and then she gets injured again. We have to take care of players and do what’s smart, and not do what’s a little bit naive.”

There is a recall for in-form Bethany England, back involved for the first time since last September.

The forward has scored 12 Women’s Super League goals for Tottenham after joining from Chelsea in January, and Wiegman said: “She was at Chelsea, she didn’t get the minutes.

“Then she made a move and started playing. Tottenham was having a hard time, but how she performed and how much resilience she showed – I think that’s what made us make the decision to get her in the squad.”

Millie Bright and Lucy Bronze, also sidelined of late, do feature in a 23-player list from which skipper Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby had already been ruled out due to injury.

Wiegman confirmed Bright is set to captain the side, and regarding her and Bronze’s recoveries from knee surgery, she said: “Lucy is fit and fully in training, and Millie is in a good place, so we’re positive.

“She’s still building but we have some time. We need to build a little more but it looks good.”

On Williamson’s absence after suffering an ACL injury of her own in April, Wiegman said: “Of course, most of all for her it’s very disappointing and sad, and that’s the same for Fran and for Beth Mead.

“But you have to move on too. This is unfortunately part of top sports, that you can get injured. You hope to make that risk as small as possible but it can happen and someone else steps up and it gives an opportunity.”

Jordan Nobbs is included despite sustaining an injury in Aston Villa’s penultimate game of the season, Katie Zelem has been brought back after not making the last squad in April, and there is no recall for Williamson’s predecessor as captain Steph Houghton.

Jess Park, Maya Le Tissier – who Wiegman said was “really close” to making the 23 – and Emily Ramsey have been named on standby.

Wiegman said there had been “hard decisions” and that while some players were missing through injury, she still feels “we have a very good squad, very good depth in the squad.”

England get their campaign at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand under way by facing Haiti in Brisbane on July 22, and will also take on Denmark and China in Group D.

Wiegman was also asked about the diversity of the squad in terms of there being 22 white players out of 23, and said: “Of course I understand that people look at it like that, and I really hope that will change, but that won’t change overnight.

“I know the FA is doing lots of things, with ‘Discover My Talent’, ‘Let Girls Play’, to get everyone who wants to play football, whatever background you have, or wherever you come from, that you have access to it.

“I think what our players did after the Euros, (asking to) have access in schools, which now had a big result, hopefully that brings more girls with different backgrounds into the game, so in the future we have more players from different backgrounds in the national team too. But for now I think that takes a little more time.”

Bethany England has been included in Sarina Wiegman’s England squad for this summer’s World Cup, while Beth Mead misses out.

Striker England, who has not been involved for her country since last September, is recalled after scoring 12 Women’s Super League goals for Tottenham since joining them from Chelsea in January.

But there is no return for Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner and player of the tournament Mead, having lost her battle against time after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in November.

England forward Beth Mead says she will “try my hardest” to make the summer’s World Cup while admitting “it may be a little bit too soon”.

Mead, who claimed the Golden Boot and player of the tournament award when the Lionesses won the Euros on home soil last year, has been sidelined since suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Arsenal in November.

In March, England boss Sarina Wiegman said she was planning for the World Cup without Mead, adding: “If a miracle happens and she goes so fast (in her recovery), then we will reconsider it – but at this moment I don’t expect that.”

Speaking on Wednesday as she received an MBE at Windsor Castle for services to football, Mead told the PA news agency: “I’m back on the pitch, back kicking a ball. So it’s starting to be a little bit more normal again, but it’s been a long, tough period.

“I will try my hardest to get as close to that as possible. But (the World Cup) may be a little bit too soon for me this time around.”

Mead also told Sky Sports she was “ahead of schedule” in her recovery, before adding that her World Cup participation is “out of my control”.

The showpiece in Australia and New Zealand gets under way on July 20, with Wiegman set to name her squad for the tournament later this month.

Mead is one of four Arsenal players to have sustained ACL injuries this season, with England captain Leah Williamson another, along with Vivianne Miedema and Laura Wienroither.

On the broader picture in terms of ACL injuries, Mead told PA: “I think there’s more that can be done. Obviously, we’ll be delving into that a lot more as individuals and as a club and in the women’s game in general.

“I think it’s becoming like six more times likely than male players and we’ve got that figure and that’s something that can help.

“It’s a long injury and you don’t want to be seeing any player going out with it, but some of the best players that you want to be seeing in World Cups and things like that (have sustained the injury).

“We’ll try and help push that out there more and get more research done on that.”

Also receiving an MBE on Wednesday was Mead’s England team-mate Lucy Bronze, who has been out of action herself after undergoing knee surgery last month.

The Barcelona defender, whose club play Wolfsburg in the Champions League final on June 3, said: “I think (the World Cup) is really far in the future and I should be back training within a few weeks now. The surgery was two weeks ago but very minor compared to some of the other girls.

“I’m hoping to get back fit for the Champions League final.”