England's Fran Kirby to miss World Cup with knee injury

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England forward Fran Kirby announced Tuesday that she will miss the Women's World Cup this summer because of a knee injury.

Kirby was injured while playing for her club team Chelsea during the Continental League Cup semifinal against West Ham on Feb. 9.

After trying to rehabilitate the injury, it was determined that Kirby will need surgery and she will miss the rest of the season with Chelsea as well as the World Cup.

Kirby's absence is another blow to an England team that recently lost captain Leah Williamson to a torn ACL, while forward Beth Mead appears to be a long shot to get back from knee surgery in time for the World Cup.

Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, soccer's premier tournament starts on July 20 and runs through Aug. 20.

The 29-year-old Kirby released a statement on Instagram that she was "absolutely gutted." She is expected to be sidelined for a significant period.

"I'm going to be doing everything possible to be ready for the start of next season and want to wish my teammates at Chelsea the best of luck for the rest of the season and my Lioness teammates the best of luck for the summer," she wrote.

Kirby has 17 goals in 65 appearances for England. She started all of England's games in their run to the 2022 European championship.

She has played for Chelsea in the Women's Super League since 2015, scoring 60 goals in 91 games. Chelsea is currently vying for a WSL title and plays Manchester United in the FA Cup final on May 14.

England opens the World Cup with a match against Haiti on July 23 in Brisbane.

Reporting by The Associated Press.