Arnold Clark Cup: Leah Williamson to captain England

Defender Leah Williamson will captain England in the Arnold Clark Cup starting this week.

The 24-year-old deputises for Steph Houghton, who will miss the tournament - also featuring Germany, Spain and Canada - with an Achilles injury.

England begin their campaign against Canada at the Riverside Stadium on Thursday at 19:30 GMT.

Williamson, 24, captained England in Sarina Wiegman's first game as manager against North Macedonia in September.

Arsenal's Williamson returns to the squad after missing November's World Cup qualifying matches against Austria and Latvia with a hamstring problem, when Millie Bright led the side.

Manchester City midfielder Keira Walsh, who played alongside Williamson in several of England's youth sides, believes her promotion to captain will pose her few concerns.

"It's always a role she [Williamson] has naturally assumed anyway, whether she is wearing the armband or not," Walsh said.

Goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck and defender Lucy Bronze also return from injury and will play under Wiegman for the first time.

Houghton, who returned from a four-month absence in January, has yet to feature for Wiegman.

Bronze, who was among those considered to be in the running for the captaincy, said: "I have obviously been out a while and missed a lot of camps.

"She [Wiegman] wants me to focus on playing and training well. She knows I am a strong leader in the team but right now it's important I get myself right.

"It gives me time to focus on how I play in an England shirt. In terms of Leah [Williamson] being captain, she has obviously captained the team a lot recently and has done a really good job. She is a young leader but has set a good example for a lot of the players."