MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -Former Chelsea midfielder Sophie Ingle was named on Thursday in Wales' 23-player squad for next month's Women's European Championship, despite being sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury since September.
"We needed to make sure that Sophie Ingle was in a good place, she's still on her path to full fitness but she's in a position now where she can contribute," Wales manager Rhian Wilkinson said.
The 33-year-old, who has been released by Chelsea, tore her ACL in a pre-season friendly against Feyenoord last September, but Wilkinson said the former Wales skipper who has 141 caps showed enough in training to merit a place in the squad.
"I don't want to get into (what role Ingle will play) specifically because Sophie's pushing, she's looking really good in training. She made me look foolish yesterday, I should never jump into training anymore, it's not good for my ego."
Wales will be making their first appearance at a major tournament at the Euros in Switzerland and they marked the occasion by announcing the squad from the summit of Snowdon, the country's highest peak.
Angharad James will captain a squad that includes her Seattle Reign midfield teammate Jess Fishlock, who is 38 and Wales' most-capped player with 161 appearances and 47 goals.
"Jess is going to be the face, the name of Wales. She knows that," Wilkinson said. "But equally there is a group of senior players who have come through the whole thing, they have seen it all, been through it all and fought the fights.
"To get the team over the line at what may be the end of their careers... it's one of those things as a coach you are really proud of, to help deliver that."
Wales are the lowest-ranked squad in the tournament that kicks off on July 3, and were drawn into a difficult group with defending champions England, France and the Netherlands.
Wales face the Dutch in their opening game on July 5.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Olivia Clark, Safia Middleton-Patel, Poppy Soper;
Defenders: Charlie Estcourt, Gemma Evans, Hayley Ladd, Esther Morgan, Ella Powell, Rhiannon Roberts;
Midfielders: Josie Green, Lily Woodham, Jess Fishlock, Alice Griffiths, Sophie Ingle, Angharad James, Lois Joel, Rachel Rowe;
Forwards: Ceri Holland, Kayleigh Barton, Hannah Cain, Elise Hughes, Carrie Jones, Ffion Morgan.
(Reporting by Lori EwingEditing by Christian Radnedge)
