Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor ruled star forward Lauren Hemp out Saturday’s clash with Everton – but admits he won’t know her availability until the next 24 hours.
Embed from Getty ImagesManchester City’s Lauren Hemp
The Lionesses star was ruled out of Sarina Wiegman’s squad last week with injury and, as such, has been ruled out of training this week, which has raised doubts over her involvement in Saturday’s game against Everton.
“She picked up something quite slight from the Reading game. We’ll find out a little bit more over the next 24 hours, whether she will be available or not.
“We took a precaution over the last few days to keep her out of the training practices and we’ll have more news in 24 hours”.
Jess Park
Embed from Getty ImagesMeanwhile, Taylor admitted he was happy to see other his other Lionesses get minutes in the legs, and spoke at length on the development of Esme Morgan and Jess Park, the latter impressing on loan at weekend opponents Everton.
“We have good communication with all of the nations – pre camp and post camp – sometimes we agree on the plan, sometimes we don’t. It’s part and parcel these days though.
“I spoke to Jess after she did the amazing thing of scoring for her country. Thought it was fantastic and fully deserved. I think her performances have been really good this season.
“Again, it was a player we looked at and were reluctant to allow her to leave but we really saw the importance of how highly we needed Sandy.
“We monitor Jess really closely and I have high hopes for her going forward. We managed to tie her down to a contract before she left us and I see her coming back here to have a really good future.
Manchester City: Esme Morgan
“As for Esme, I’m really pleased for her first and foremost. Because I think it (her call up to the national squad) is really well deserved. She has had some tough moments last season with the leg break.
“The injuries she suffered last season were really tough for us to handle. And, losing someone like Esme with her adaptability was a big blow. In saying that, we have always seen her as a centre half. With her profile I think she fits that position really well.
Embed from Getty Images“I think what we are seeing at the moment is really evidence of that, and confidence within her play, good in her distribution. She still has some areas to work on, but she has good players around her to help with that on and off the pitch.”
