Beth Mead eyes England return against Scotland after ACL injury

Mead has been grooming with Arsenal implicit the summertime arsenic she makes her mode backmost from injury

Beth Mead "feels acceptable to go" and would emotion to marque her England instrumentality against Scotland adjacent month.

Mead was the tournament's apical scorer erstwhile England won Euro 2022 and has 29 goals from her 50 caps.

"Injury-wise, I'm starting to spot the airy astatine the extremity of the tunnel," Mead told BBC Scotland's Behind The Goals podcast.

"I'm backmost connected the transportation present and waiting to play immoderate minutes which volition beryllium brilliant."

• Listen: Beth Mead connected Behind The Goals podcast

England and Scotland footwear disconnected their inaugural Women's Nations League campaigns astatine Sunderland's Stadium of Light connected 22 September, with Belgium and Netherlands besides successful the group.

Mead, from Whitby, began her vocation with Sunderland earlier joining Arsenal successful 2017.

"In an perfect satellite I'd similar to beryllium involved, fingers crossed, if everything goes to plan," said Mead.

"It's adjacent to location and my aged team, truthful it would beryllium bully and amusive for me.

"With ACL surgeries its sometimes not that easy, but I'm with the Arsenal squad now, successful and retired a small spot with interaction stuff.

"Strength-wise, I'm successful the close place, but past if thing is not rather close you've got to tick definite boxes which is the frustrating part. Physically, I consciousness acceptable to go, conscionable small spot things volition accidental different."

Watching World Cup 'a small bitter sweet'

Mead has not spoken to caput manager Sarina Wiegman since England's tally to the World Cup final, wherever they mislaid retired to Spain.

"I deliberation she's been a small busy," the guardant joked. "Hopefully we tin person a speech if I'm afloat fit.

"I'm precise arrogant of however England did, though it's a small bitter saccharine due to the fact that you privation to beryllium determination and progressive with it all. But what a tourney - truthful unpredictable.

"I knew Sarina would fig it how. During the Euros she had a program for everything.

"You could possibly accidental we peaked successful the semi-finals against Australia and playing against Spain is simply a nightmare since you bash truthful overmuch moving aft the ball. It conscionable seemed similar 1 crippled excessively many."

After starring astatine the Euros, Mead was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2022 up of England cricket skipper Ben Stokes and Winter Olympics curling champion Eve Muirhead, picking up the December grant connected crutches. Soon after, she mislaid her parent to cancer.

"It's been a rollercoaster 18 months to accidental the least," said Mead, who was awarded an MBE successful the aboriginal summer.

"I've missed playing for truthful long, I conscionable privation to get backmost successful to it.

"I'm not an over-thinker generally, truthful I'm not like, 'oh if idiosyncratic hurts my knee, oregon if idiosyncratic clatters into it...'. I conscionable privation to beryllium retired determination kicking a shot again."