Ingle ‘will be ready' for Wales' Euro 2025 opener
Sophie Ingle says she will be ready to play in Wales' opening game of Euro 2025 against the Netherlands on Saturday, 5 July.
Wales have been without the influential 33-year-old for nine months after she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) last September.
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The long-time former captain has defied the odds to make head coach Rhian Wilkinson's squad for the European Championship, and is currently part of a pre-tournament camp in Portugal.
Wales face the Dutch in Lucerne on before games against France and England in Group D at the tournament in Switzerland.
When asked whether she would be available for the Netherlands game, Ingle said "Yes. I feel good. I'm still ticking off a few things over the next week with the medical team but I'm in a good place on the pitch and all my testing is improving.
"I do feel really good on the pitch right now and whatever role I'm needed [to play] for the team I'll be ready, but I'm still trying to push through the fitness side of things for the next week.
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"I've been working hard in the heat and I've got to play some football as well which is nice. We've got four days of training in a row and then an in-house friendly match."
The journey back
With 141 international caps to her name, Ingle brings great experience to a squad building up to their first women's major tournament.
But after months of questions about whether she would make it to Switzerland, Ingle - who is looking for a new club this summer after a seven-year spell with Chelsea - insists she has stayed calm all along.
"I wasn't worried," Ingle told the Feast of Football podcast.
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"I think from when I first got injured I was always open about it, saying that I'm coming no matter what, whether I made the squad, whether I was going to be a training player or whether I was going to be a fan.
"I wanted to be here with the girls on this journey and I would've done anything I could to get on that plane, in any role. I would've been kit man if you wanted me to.
"Obviously I always wanted to get in to the squad and be available for selection, but if my injury had prevented that then I was going to be here."
Even during her spell on the sidelines, Ingle's presence has been felt within the Wales squad, with the midfielder or defender joining in recent training camps as part of her rehabilitation.
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She has also worked as a pitchside TV pundit for Wales games, including the play-off victory over Republic of Ireland which saw Wales clinch their Euro 2025 place last December.
Ingle, who was on crutches at the time, was on air discussing Wales' success when she was whisked off by her celebrating team-mates.
"It was nice that the girls came over to get me and I could enjoy that with the team. I think that was a nice touch," Ingle said.
"When the whistle went it was just relief that the girls had done it. We've been so close in the past and been through so much, we could finally relax and enjoy the moment.
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"When I'm home and have to watch the Wales games on the sofa it's not the same. I want to be in the stadium - I want to be there with the girls."
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