Sonia Bompastor Provides Chelsea Injury Updates Before Arsenal Clash
Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor confirmed Johanna Rytting Kaneryd will be fit for Wednesday’s women’s Champions League tie with Arsenal. Rytting Kaneryd had missed Sunday’s 4-3 win over Aston Villa.
Chelsea lost the first leg at the Emirates 3-1 last week. They must overturn a two-goal deficit at Stamford Bridge to reach the semi-finals.
Sonia Bompastor provided injury updates ahead of the Arsenal clash, confirming the current squad picture for the visit. The coach outlined who was available and who remained sidelined.
Availability and training
Lucy Bronze, Lauren James and Sjoeke Nusken trained separately on Tuesday morning. Bompastor described this as a normal part of a packed fixture schedule.
She said different recovery and training programmes account for varied pitch time. All three players are expected to be available for selection.
Confirmed absences
Captain Millie Bright and striker Aggie Beever-Jones will miss the next two Chelsea matches. Bompastor said both are progressing well with their recoveries.
Neither will return before the upcoming international break. The club expect both players to be back after the break.
Recent returns and match impact
Sunday’s 4-3 win over Aston Villa featured returns for Ellie Carpenter and Sam Kerr. Both had been away with Australia at the Asian Cup.
Niamh Charles made her first appearance of 2026 after recovering from injury. Sam Kerr opened the scoring at Kingsmeadow.
Carpenter and Charles played influential roles in the victory. Bompastor said the returning players add confidence and quality to the squad.
Squad status summary
- Available: Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Lucy Bronze, Lauren James, Sjoeke Nusken.
- Returned recently: Ellie Carpenter, Sam Kerr, Niamh Charles.
- Unavailable: Millie Bright, Aggie Beever-Jones (out until after international break).
