Vera Pauw boosted by return to action of Niamh Fahey and Leanne Kiernan

Good news: Vera Pauw’s World Cup squad-selecting job just got a little bit harder.

Last month, Savannah McCarthy returned to action for Shamrock Rovers after a year out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and Chloe Mustaki made her comeback for Bristol City after a groin problem had left her sidelined since December. And now, Niamh Fahey and Leanne Kiernan are up and running again.

Kiernan was injured in Liverpool’s opening game of the Women’s Super League season in September and had been recuperating ever since, and her club captain Fahey had been on the injury list since January.

Both players, though, returned to training in the last couple of weeks and were on the bench for Liverpool’s game against Manchester City on Sunday.

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Neither came on but that was largely due to Liverpool producing one of their best performances of the season, all but ending Manchester City’s title hopes with a 2-1 win.

Fahey’s return will be a particular boost for Pauw, as the Galwegian is a mainstay in her defence, becoming just the fourth Irish woman to win 100 caps for her country last year. Kiernan hasn’t fared as well under Pauw, starting just three games during the Dutch woman’s reign, but if she can stay healthy and prove her fitness, she offers another attacking option for that World Cup squad.

Meanwhile, Brighton’s two Megans – Connolly and Walsh – made no small contribution to their side’s 1-0 win over West Ham on Sunday, Walsh replacing Lydia Williams in goal after the Australian was injured in the warm-up. That victory lifted them five points clear of bottom club Reading and although that doesn’t guarantee them safety from relegation, it leaves them just a hair’s breath away.

Reading’s 5-0 defeat by Aston Villa means goalkeeper Grace Moloney and defender Diane Caldwell, both of whom started in the hammering, are facing the drop into the Championship. Moloney, mind, could relate to Courtney Brosnan’s woes – her goalkeeping colleague conceded as many goals in Everton’s first half against Chelsea, eventually losing 7-0.

Chelsea are, then, closing in on WSL leaders Manchester United, for whom Aoife Mannion came off the bench for the last 15 minutes of their 3-0 win over Spurs on Sunday. They’re four points adrift, but with two games in hand.

Further afield, there was yet more frustration for Amber Barrett, who was an unused sub in bottom-of-the-Bundesliga Potsdam’s 6-1 trouncing by Hoffenheim, the Donegal woman having seen very little game-time since returning from a shoulder injury sustained in December.

Pauw, need it be said, has some humongous decisions to make in the weeks ahead.