Steph Houghton Withdraws From England Women's Squad to Face Spain With Groin Injury

England Women's captain Steph Houghton has withdrawn from the Lionesses squad to face Spain on Tuesday due to a mild groin injury.

The Manchester City star is expected to lead the Lionesses out at this summer's World Cup in France, and featured during the last friendly against Canada.

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However, as confirmed by the Football Association, Houghton felt mild groin pain following the clash with Canada, and that a 'decision has been made to rest her in order to manage her load ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer'.

As such, the centre-back will sit out of Tuesday's 'Road to France Series' match against Spain on Tuesday at Swindon's County Ground, and will instead return to City.

After seeing his side slip to a late 1-0 defeat to Canada, England boss Phil Neville confirmed that he would be making changes to his starting line-up for Tuesday, and would use the game as an opportunity to see the rest of his squad in action.

He said: "I will make changes for Tuesday, Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton are out after suffering knocks.

"It is a chance for a few players to get some freshness and keep the momentum going forward. This does not stop us from believing or going on the road where we want to."

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Following Tuesday's clash, the Lionesses will face just two more friendlies before the World Cup begins in June, with Neville's third-ranked side expected to be one of the favourites for the competition.