STEPH HOUGHTON: Keira Walsh is a key player for England… If she’s out for the rest of the World Cup – after leaving the pitch through injury against Denmark – it will be a massive blow for Sarina Wiegman’s side

Keira Walsh is England’s most important player and to lose her for the rest of the tournament if she has injured her ACL would be a huge blow.

There’s been lots of talk about the No 9 position in the England team and whether Millie Bright would be fit to play but Keira, in that No 6 role, is key. I’ve seen her grow from a 16-year-old who came to Manchester City into, in my opinion, the best holding midfielder in the world.

She’s got great passing ability, is intelligent and is so technically gifted. She’s also strong mentally and reminds me a little of Rodri, in our City men’s team. When Rodri doesn’t play they often struggle to get going.

Hopefully, this isn’t what we all think it might be but if it is she’ll approach it in the right way. She’s at a great club in Barcelona and will obviously have the full support of the England staff. She will do everything she needs to do to get back as soon as she can.

If this is a serious injury — and we hope it’s not — it is important she lets her emotions out. You have to be sad and frustrated and then you get your head around it and kick on with rehab.

The 26-year-old is among the best holding midfielders in the world and will be hard to replace

I know there has been a lot of focus on ACL injuries within the women’s game and I’ve spoken about it in this column before. If that is what’s happened here, I don’t think it’s anything to do with biological difference between men and women.

By the looks of it Keira’s studs got caught in the turf and forced her knee into a position that it doesn’t like to be in. 

That reaction happens regardless of your physique. I was quite surprised to see my City team-mate Laura Coombs drop back into that No 6 position given she’s usually further up the field. But she has performed that role well for us and defensively is very good. 

Coombsy has had a great season. Her fitness levels are through the roof and, as she’s got older, she has become more confident.

She also fancies herself as an entrepreneur. She’s always on Rightmove looking at houses and is a bit of a Charlie Dimmock when it comes to gardening. I don’t know who’s taking care of that while she’s away!

Katie Zelem plays in the holding spot week in, week out for Manchester United and hasn’t really been given a chance to impress the manager Sarina Wiegman yet. Maybe the game against China is that opportunity. 

Laura Coombs (left) could drop deeper if Walsh is out for the rest of the World Cup, while Katie Zelem (right) is another option

She wasn’t picked for the Euros and I was delighted to see her picked for the World Cup — she always wants to work hard.

While Keira’s injury was a bit deflating, England are in a perfect place. This was a much-improved performance than the one against Haiti and they will feel they still have a few gears to shift through. 

They looked a lot more confident and it was another 90 minutes to build up rhythm. It’s important that they top the group and we need to keep winning.

There’s no way we’ll go looking for a draw against China.