Chelsea's Fran Kirby is in contention to play for England Women in their World Cup qualifier in Luxembourg on Tuesday night, but manager Sarina Wiegman has confirmed Steph Houghton faces a spell on the sidelines.
Houghton was due to retain her captaincy of the Lionesses following Wiegman's appointment but was injured in the last training session ahead of Friday's 8-0 win over North Macedonia.
She returned to Manchester City to be assessed and Wiegman admits she is unsure how long the defender will be out.
"I don't know yet," she replied when asked how long Houghton could be missing.
"It is serious enough that she can't be here and she will recover at her club. She got injured, which was very disappointing for her but also for the team.
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"She's had a pretty tough time in the spring when she was injured and it was hard for her to make the Olympics, then the Olympics were disappointing for the Great Britain team and now she really wanted to come back, play and have fun."
Kirby was not fit enough for the bench at St Mary's on Friday but Wiegman confirmed the Chelsea forward will be available in Luxembourg.
With Houghton missing on Friday, Arsenal's Leah Williamson captained England for the first time and was praised for her leadership qualities.
Wiegman confirmed Williamson will wear the armband again on Tuesday - but that she is still yet to decide who will captain her team in the long term.
"It was always the plan to have the same captain for both games after Steph dropped out. That was always the plan but it is not all set in stone."
How to follow
Follow Luxembourg Women vs England Women via the Sky Sports app and digital platforms with our live match blog providing build-up and coverage from 6pm; kick-off at 7pm.
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England Women's World Cup 2023 qualifying campaign
October 23: England Women vs Northern Ireland Women
October 26: Latvia Women vs England Women
November 27: England Women vs Austria Women
November 30: England Women vs Latvia Women
April 8, 2022: North Macedonia Women vs England Women
April 12: Northern Ireland Women vs England Women