Sonia Bompastor has confirmed that Millie Bright is likely to miss Chelsea‘s midweek match against Brighton and Hove Albion following an injury, and could be joined by two other players.
The Blues’ captain missed out on their Women’s League Cup victory at Ashton Gate over Manchester United, providing a moment of joy in what has been an otherwise dour season for the reigning WSL champions.
Chelsea lift the League Cup. 🏆
Full match highlights from our 2–0 win over Manchester United. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/HH5Ywtw2HO
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) March 16, 2026
Injury News Follows Cup Success
With Chelsea out of the Women’s Super League title race and facing uphill tasks to win both the Women’s Champions League and Women’s FA Cup, Sonia Bompastor’s side still secured silverware for the seventh successive season by overcoming Manchester United, thanks to goals from Lauren James and Aggie Beaver-Jones.
However, one of the big headlines before the match was the notable absence of defender Naomi Girma, who joined captain Millie Bright on the sidelines, leaving the Blues short at the back.
When discussing the fitness of both centre-backs following the match, Bompastor stated: (Quotes via Chelsea FC):
“Naomi picked up a small injury in her calf. Hopefully it’s not too bad and she can be available for the next game.
“I don’t have a timeframe for Millie but I would like her to be available as soon as possible, hopefully for the weekend.
“It’s crucial at this business end of the season to have all your players. You could see in a game like today when you have to bring fresh legs and different options into the game that it helps to have a big bench.”
Another major injury occured during the game, with Nathalie Bjorn only managing five minutes after her introduction to the game as a replacement for the returning Kadeisha Buchanan, who made her first appearance since suffering an ACL injury in November 2024.
“It was really sad for her. It doesn’t look good. We need to assess her. We were all buzzing with Kadeisha starting and part of the plan was for Nat to come in and get some minutes. We will assess her, but it’s really sad.”
Defensive Headaches Continue
With Millie Bright making good progress towards a return and Kadeisha Buchanan making a return to action after over a year on the sidelines, it finally looked like Chelsea would finally have a healthy squad to choose from as they look to wrestle their way into European contention in the WSL on top of their other cup campaigns.
However, it has been somewhat of a nightmare for the Blues, with Naomi Girma missing out on the Women’s League Cup final, albeit with some positive news with a return on Wednesday looking likely.
But Nathalie Bjorn’s own calf issue will be a major headache for the remainder of the season, especially at a time when they will want to slowly build back Kadiesha Buchanan’s match fitness.
Alongside forward Mayra Ramirez, Chelsea may be a bit light in terms of quality ahead of their Champions League double header against archrivals Arsenal, which could prove to be pivotal for their remaining chances at silverware.