Parker issues squad update on eve of Women's opener
Southampton FC Women have a "settled squad" for their opening day clash, Simon Parker revealed in his first team news update of the season.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's season opener against newly promoted Ipswich Town, Saints' new Head Coach confirmed only a couple of absentees are to be expected at St Mary's Stadium.
Longer-term sidelined duo Rachel Brown, who suffered an ACL injury last season, and Aimee Palmer, who had to manage a stress fracture over the summer break, remain out of action but have taken significant strides in their recovery at Staplewood.
Elsewhere, summer signing Maria Edwards will be made to wait for her Saints debut as she's expected to be unavailable for a handful of games at the start of the season.
Rachel Brown continuing her rehab at Staplewood. (Photo: Matt Watson)
"It's been busy, we've got the squad all sorted now, everyone's in. We've got players coming back [from injury] as well which is quite nice." Parker said.
"There was a few knocks and contact injuries [over pre-season], and an unfortunate one for Maz, but we had some good news from the specialists that means we'll hopefully get her back with us sooner than we initially thought.
"Physically, with the players that have got through pre-season, we're in a good position. We've got a couple that are still returning but the good news is they're beginning to come back and their modified minutes are growing."
Looking firmly ahead to the opening day, Parker concluded his squad update with optimism; "I'm settled, the squad seems settled, and we're really looking forward to getting started.
"We've got real quality, we've got depth, a lot of players that can offer different things and for us to be adaptable, and that's something we're going to have to be anyway because there's a lot of good teams in this league."
