England dealt major injury blow as Mary Earps limps off against France

England have been dealt a major blow in their EURO 2025 qualification campaign as first-choice goalkeeper Mary Earps was forced to leave the field with an injury.

The Manchester United shot-stopper, who is out of contract at Leigh Sports Village this summer, pulled up just two minutes into the Lionesses' clash with France at St James' Park after appearing to hurt her hip while playing out from the back. Earps tried to continue but eventually had to be substituted, with Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton brought on to replace her.

The injury occurred as Earps was playing a short pass to centre-back Millie Bright, with the goalkeeper grimacing and immediately calling for treatment. There were encouraging chants of 'Mary, Mary Mary' from the crowd before the United star got back to her feet.

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However, minutes later, Earps went down again and manager Sarina Wiegman turned to her bench, with Hampton given the nod. The Chelsea goalkeeper started England's last game, a 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland, while Earps remained an unused substitute.

"It's not down to an injury," Wiegman confirmed to ITV before that match. "I think we're in a very luxurious position that we have two incredible goalkeepers.

"As we saw with Mary (against Sweden) she did an incredible job but I also think that Hannah is doing a great job for Chelsea. She's growing into competition with Mary so this is a moment for her to shine."

England went into Friday night's clash second in their qualifying group, with France currently top. The Lionesses will face Herve Renard's side again in Saint-Etienne on June 4 before concluding their qualifying campaign with games against Sweden and the Republic of Ireland in July.