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Ellie Roebuck has returned to Sarina Wiegman’s squad for the first time since 2023, having suffered a a left occipital infarct just six months after the World Cup.
Jamie BraidwoodSaturday 29 November 2025 14:49 GMTComments
CloseWiegman ready for Lionesses' 'exciting' final fixtures of 2025
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Lionesses goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck has returned to the England squad for the first time since suffering a stroke that threatened her football career.
The 26-year-old, who was in England’s squad at Euro 2022 and the 2023 World Cup and start for Great Britain at the 2020 Olympics, has been called up by Sarina Wiegman for the friendlies against China and Ghana following injuries to Hannah Hampton and Khiara Keating.
Roebuck has won 11 England caps but has not played for her country since 2023, having suffered a left occipital infarct just six months after the World Cup.
open image in galleryEllie Roebuck was part of the England squads at Euro 2022 and the 2023 World Cup (The FA via Getty Images)Although there was no lasting damage to her brain or vision, the former Manchester City goalkeeper was sidelined for six months and admitted in an interview with the BBC that she questioned whether she would play football again.
“I'm lucky because I should have lost my vision," Roebuck told BBC Sport. "I should have lost my peripheral vision for sure. The majority of people that suffer a stroke [like mine] do that. So, I probably should have been blind, which is quite a miracle that that didn't happen.
“It filled me with panic, but I never had in my mind that it was a stroke. He sat me down and was like, 'you've had an infarct in your left occipital lobe'. I asked 'what's that in English?' And then he said it was a type of stroke.
“My first question was 'am I going to play football again? The nurses said you can't carry shopping for six weeks. You can't do any exercise. I thought, 'I'm a professional footballer, I can't do that'.
“I wouldn't walk my dog for like six weeks. I wouldn't leave the house. I was scared to do anything on my own. And that was never me, I was always super independent. My mum and dad were doing shifts of living with me in my one-bedroom flat in Manchester.”
open image in galleryRoebuck still has 'aspirations' of starting for England (WSL Football via Getty Images)Following a spell with Barcelona last season, Roebuck joined Aston Villa in the summer and has made two appearances in the Women’s Super League so far this season.
With Hampton and Keating sidelined, Wiegman could hand debuts to Anna Moorhouse or Sophie Baggaley as England host China at Wembley in their penultimate match of the year.
Speaking earlier this season, Roebuck said she was targeting a return to the England team but admitted she was still having to be “patient” as the Sheffield-born goalkeeper rebuilds her career.
“I feel like I’m ready now,” Roebuck told the BBC. “It’s been a difficult 18 months and I guess it’s taken me some time to adapt to the new version of myself and just finding my limits and finding different things to perform to my best ability.
“Now it’s about coming back to the league, [somewhere] familiar. It’s going to be a nice challenge. I was really happy out there [in Barcelona], to learn a purpose outside of Ellie the footballer.
“I had to learn that because I wasn’t allowed to play for six months, I wasn’t allowed to exercise for six months. All the things that made up my personality were taken away.
“I still have to be patient. There’s still a long way to go. It’s not linear, there’s good days and bad days. But for me now it’s about performing. I still have aspirations and I’m still young. There’s a long way to go. I want to fulfil my potential - but my way.”
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