Chelsea legend Katie Chapman has admitted that she is delighted to see former teammate Fran Kirby return to her very best this season.
The 27-year-old’s 2019/2020 campaign was destroyed by pericarditis, an illness which floored her for several months but she has returned to competitive action in the last month with a real bang.
When speaking to FA Women’s Super League Full-Time in FIFA’s ‘Football Talks’ media event earlier today, former Blues midfielder Chapman hailed the return of Kirby, a player who she believes is beginning to look very special again.
“I am absolutely delighted for Fran” said Chapman. “I think she is a great player and a great person and she has had a lot of battles throughout her career.
“Having the illness kept her out for a long, long time.
“It was important that she was taken care of and she got herself back into the right place.
“Seeing her play again is like when we (Chelsea) played against her when she was at Reading, its exciting.
“She is a player who can change a game, she makes a massive difference.
“When I watched her in that England team, I thought ‘wow she is special’. She is back and I am so pleased for Fran.”
Kirby has starred for both club and country in the early stages of this season. She was an FA Women’s Community Shield winner in her first game back in a Blues shirt while she has provided a goal and an assist in Chelsea’s two Barclays FA Women’s Super League matches.
The player received a call-up to England’s recent training camp at St George’s Park and Kirby has again impressed at international level, ending up on the winning side for both ’11v11′ friendlies. She even managed to bag herself a Player of the Match award in the first game.
Chelsea fans will be hoping that Kirby’s spectacular return to form will continue on Sunday when they face a tough tie in the quarter-finals of the 2019/2020 Vitality Women’s FA Cup against Everton at Goodison Park.
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