England centre backs doubtful for World Cup quarterfinals

englands-steph-houghton-defends-against-cameroon

England's Steph Houghton, left, and Cameroon's Michaela Abam vie for the ball during the Women's World Cup Round of 16 match between England and Cameroon at the Stade du Hainaut stadium in Valenciennes, France, Sunday, June 23, 2019. (Michel Spingler/AP)

LE HAVRE, France — England could be without centre backs Steph Houghton and Millie Bright for the team’s Women’s World Cup quarterfinal match against Norway.

England coach Phil Neville says "both are major doubts" for Thursday’s game in Le Havre.

Neville says Bright is sick after picking up a "virus that’s going a little bit through the camp."

Houghton is still recovering from an ankle injury sustained in a tackle in Sunday’s victory over Cameroon.

Leah Williamson and Abbie McManus are in line to replace Houghton and Bright in central defence.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.