Ella Toone says she feels “ready and prepared” to launch into a World Cup summer with England on Monday, three weeks after the conclusion of the Women’s Super League season. Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman had long planned for a pre-tournament camp to start on June 19, but there was uncertainty when she named her World Cup squad on May 31 as talks continued over the timing of players being released for duty ahead of the showpiece in Australia and New Zealand, which gets under way on July 20. The European Club Association had in April highlighted July 10 as the earliest date for player release under FIFA regulations, and in mid-May the two bodies proposed June 23-29 as a guideline timeframe that they said “(struck) the all-important balance between players having sufficient rest while allowing adequate time to prepare”, with exact dates to be agreed between clubs and national associations. Last week the June 19 start for England’s camp was confirmed by the Football Association, which said it was “grateful for the mutual understanding of the clubs, as we have collectively worked towards a solution with the wellbeing of players at the heart.” Regarding the recent uncertainty, Toone told the PA news agency: “It’s not been ideal, but for us it’s what we can control and that was making sure we had rest and recovery, making sure we were physically and mentally getting ourselves back to where we know we need to be. “Now I’m back on it, working hard and can’t wait to go into camp.” Toone, part of Great Britain’s Tokyo Olympics squad in the summer of 2021 before helping England win the Euros last year, has been a regular starter for her country across 2022-23 and featured in a Manchester United side that achieved WSL and FA Cup best efforts as runners-up in each competition. The 23-year-old Wigan native – speaking at a McDonald’s Fun Football session in Manchester – says it has been a “long season, but one I’ve thoroughly enjoyed” and has declared herself “really happy” with the agreed camp start date, adding: “I’ve had time to switch off and now I feel ready and prepared. “We have a lot of trust in our England staff and they thought the 19th was right for us and so did we as players. “It’s a World Cup, my first World Cup, so I can’t wait to get going.” Toone feels it is important player welfare and scheduling is something that continues to be looked at closely as the women’s game keeps developing, saying: “We’ve seen quite a few injuries in the WSL this season. “We have to make sure we get that rest and recovery right, as teams and as players. The women’s game is growing massively, as a club we are in the Champions League now as well so that’s extra games. It’s definitely something we all need to focus on because injuries are a big part of the game right now.” England captain Leah Williamson and Euro 2022 top-scorer Beth Mead will not be at the World Cup after sustaining ACL injuries, and Fran Kirby is also absent due to a knee problem from a 23-player group scheduled to face Portugal in a warm-up match at Milton Keynes on July 1 before flying to Australia four days later. Toone said: “It is an amazing squad. We know how much talent we have in England now. We’re obviously missing a few big names and people who were massive in the Euros win, but we’ve got to look forward and be confident in the team that’s going.” Fun Football is an initiative to give children aged five to 11 free access to the game, and Toone said: “It’s great for the next generation of young girls. “It’s something we probably missed out on and wish we’d had when we were growing up. It’s an amazing thing that McDonald’s are doing for communities and for young girls and boys to start out on their journey.” :: Ella Toone was speaking at a special McDonald’s Fun Football session to celebrate the opening of sessions in Lionesses’ hometowns during the Women’s World Cup. Toone hopes to encourage the next generation of young girls to get involved. Sign up to your nearest free session at mcdonalds.co.uk/football Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ciaran Clark and Matty Longstaff leaving Newcastle John Hollins: A Stamford Bridge fixture who turned reading game into an art form Harry Brook is hoping to realise his Ashes dream against Australia

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Liverpool face Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League tonight as the Reds return to action after a controversial week of VAR fallout. The Reds saw their winning run come to an end in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, but Jurgen Klopp’s side were furious after the VAR failed to overturn Luis Diaz’s wrongly disallowed opener and finished the match with nine men after Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were sent off. And after a contentious week that has seen Klopp call for the Tottenham match to be replayed following the VAR error, Liverpool will look to make it two wins from two in Europa League Group E following their opening victory at Austrian side LASK. Liverpool have never played Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in a competitive match. The Belgian side, who reached the Europa League quarter-finals last season, drew 1-1 in their opening match against Toulouse. Follow live updates from Liverpool vs Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League and get the latest match odds here. Read More Jurgen Klopp should know better — calling for replays sets a dangerous precedent Is Liverpool vs Union Saint-Gilloise on TV? Channel, start time and how to watch Europa League Jurgen Klopp calls for Liverpool’s match at Tottenham to be replayed over VAR blunder

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Skincare brand Bioré and content creator Cecilee Max-Brown have come under fire after posting a branded TikTok that spoke about school shootings. Max-Brown posted a now deleted TikTok to her account last week in collaboration with Bioré for their pore strips. The TikTok was created for mental health awareness month, with Bioré asking creators and consumers to share what they are ‘stripping away’. In the TikTok, Max-Brown spoke about her experience of surviving a school shooting and told viewers that in collaboration with Bioré she was ‘stripping away’ anxiety. ‘We want you to get it all out,’ referring to Bioré’s mental health campaign, she adds: ‘not only what’s in your pores but most importantly what’s on your mind too.’ Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The content creator and model then went onto explain that she’s be struggling with her anxiety ‘after seeing the effects of gun violence first hand.’ At the end of the video she says: ‘Join me and Bioré skincare in speaking up about mental health.’ The TikTok was accompanied by various videos of Max-Brown applying skincare products, taking walks, and journaling and more. Viewers were shocked to see something so serious and sensitive as a school shooting spoken about in the context of a paid partnership video for skincare. Despite the original TikTok being taken down, users have re uploaded it, with people leaving comments such as ‘is this real?’ ‘This is disgusting!’ ‘WHAT?!’ ‘Capitalism wild…’ and more. Some also took to Twitter to express their disapproval of the advertisement choices made. In response to the backlash, both Bioré and Max-Brown have issued statements regarding the advert. Bioré said that they were ‘so sorry’ for the TikTok, in a statement posted to Instagram. They wrote ‘we did it the wrong way. We lacked sensitivity around an incredibly serious tragedy, and our tonality was completely inappropriate.’ They added: ‘We are committed to continuing our mental health mission, but we promise to do it in a better way.’ Max-Brown issued her own statement on TikTok, writing ‘I am so sorry about this partnership video. This was strictly meant to spread awareness about the struggles that I have had with anxiety since our school shooting.’ She added, ‘I did not mean to desensitise the traumatic event that took place.’ @cecileemax Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.