Arsenal defender Leah Williamson was substituted in the Conti Cup final win over Chelsea as a “precaution”, according to BBC reporter Emma Sanders.

The England captain came off at half-time and was replaced by Laia Codina, leading to questions about her fitness. Sanders claims that Williamson had suffered some “discomfort” in her knee but she will still join up with the Lionesses squad this week:

Believe Leah Williamson came off as a precaution with discomfort in her knee yesterday while playing for Arsenal. She is still set to report to England and will be assessed there.

— Emma Sanders (@em_sandy) April 1, 2024

Williamson was sidelined for 10 months with an ACL injury before making her comeback against Reading at the end of January.

This latest setback will raise concerns that she may be suffering complications, much like her teammate Vivianne Miedema, who had to undergo a second operation to correct an issue earlier this year.

For now, it appears that Williamson has not suffered a serious setback but her fitness will have to be monitored before England’s upcoming fixtures.

Who will the Lionness be facing?

Sarina Wiegman’s team have two European Championship qualifiers coming up over the next week or so.

The World Cup finalists take on Sweden at Wembley Stadium on Friday evening before they travel to the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night where they will face the Republic of Ireland.

Arsenal’s fixtures after the international break

The victory in the Conti Cup final will be a massive confidence boost for the Gunners going into the final stretch of the campaign. Jonas Eidevall’s team have five league matches remaining versus Bristol City, Leicester, Everton, Manchester City and Brighton.

However, the chances of securing their first WSL title since 2019 do look rather slim. Arsenal are currently nine points behind leaders Chelsea but they do have a game in hand.