England and Barca ace Bronze undergoes knee surgery

Lucy Bronze will miss the second leg of Barcelona's Champions League semi-final against Chelsea due to injury.

The England star, 31, limped off the pitch during the second half of the first leg last Saturday, which Barca won 1-0 thanks to Caroline Graham Hansen's goal.

The Catalan club have now confirmed in a statement on Twitter that Bronze will be unavailable for the return fixture at the Camp Nou on Thursday after undergoing arthroscopy on her right knee.

Bronze's injury provides a fresh concern for England manager Sarina Wiegman, with both Beth Mead and captain Leah Williamson set to miss this summer’s World Cup.

However, Barca manager Jonatan Giraldez provided an upbeat assessment of Bronze's injury after Saturday's game.

He said: "She felt something in her knee in the beginning.

"But in the end right now she's fine. At the moment we made the substitution the feeling was bad, but right now the feeling she has is good."

Bronze posted on Instagram that she was "in good spirits" following her operation.

She said: "In very good spirits after my knee op yesterday. 

"It's never easy being sidelined but I'm as focused as ever to work hard and return to full fitness, hopefully as soon as possible.

"Thank you to everyone for all of your kind messages already! I couldn't ask for better support, so thank you.

"The hard work has already started already can't wait to be back on the pitch with this team. See you all very soon."