JORDAN NOBBS is proof that the best things come to those who wait.

In 2015, the Stockton-born midfielder, who was raised in the County Durham village of Fishburn, was restricted to just one appearance at the Women’s World Cup finals in Canada because of a hamstring problem. Four years later, she didn’t make it to France at all for the 2019 edition of the tournament because of a serious knee problem.

Fast forward to last summer, and Nobbs was left frustrated again, working as a TV pundit because of another knee issue while her England team-mates triumphed at the European Championships on home soil.

Nobbs, who began her career with Sunderland Ladies after briefly also spending time in the youth ranks at Middlesbrough, could have been forgiven for wondering if when it came to appearing in major tournaments, it was simply not meant to be.

Fast forward to the present day, however, and the 30-year-old is in Australia preparing to be a key part of Sarina Wiegman’s England World Cup squad. Having left Arsenal, where she had spent 13 successful years, to join Aston Villa in January in order to guarantee the regular first-team football that was required if she was to make the finals, her continued willingness to back herself has been thoroughly vindicated. Now, as she looks ahead to the Lionesses’ Group D opener against Haiti, she simply has to focus on doing herself justice on the biggest stage of all.

“I think I’m still waking up now with that butterfly feeling,” said Nobbs, who heads into the finals with 71 senior international caps under her belt. “Everyone dreams of playing in major tournaments, and everyone knows the journey I’ve been on, so to be part of this one and such a talented squad, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”

Nobbs had been with Arsenal since 2010, and said of her departure for Villa: “It was a risk to a certain extent but also with the limited game time I was getting, it was kind of like I had nothing to lose as well.

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“Naturally, there were a lot of tears and it was difficult to leave a club that I loved and owe a lot to, but when it comes to wanting to drive for another major tournament, I think I had to do everything possible, and as long as I knew I tried my best, I’d have been comfortable with whatever outcome came from that.”

She went on to make 11 WSL starts for Villa, scoring four goals, as they achieved a fifth-placed finish in the division, and added: “I think I knew with regular game time I can get back to my best.

“I think Carla (Ward, Villa manager) just gave me that confidence to go again and allow myself to be in the position I am now. She gave me a bit of love, and game time. Sometimes, it’s the small things that allow you to shine on the pitch.”

While things have come together on this occasion for Nobbs, there has been disappointment for the likes of North Yorkshire’s Beth Mead and England captain Leah Williamson, two of her former Arsenal team-mates, who will miss this tournament after sustaining ACL injuries. Fran Kirby has been ruled out due to a knee issue as well.

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Nobbs, whose injury prior to the 2019 World Cup was ACL damage, said: “I dropped them a message. But I think when you’ve been through that before, you know how many messages you get.

“So, it’s just letting them know you’re there if they need you, but also they all need to take different journeys and roads to deal with the situation and come through that. Naturally, we’re all gutted for them.

“It’s like learning to walk again when you have that kind of injury. It’s a lot of sitting in front of the telly with ice on your leg and not really doing much. I think you do go into a place where you kind of self-sabotage and sit and mope around for a bit.

“Then, once you’re up and going again, that goal is just to get back on that pitch. It’s difficult times, but also that feeling of getting back, it’s what you need to do to get back.”

She added: “I think it does just make you resilient – if I look back and think about what I’ve gone through, and I’m still here fighting, you can come through a lot in football. It’s not just me, there’s other players who have had difficult times. It’s just that ‘never give up’ attitude really.”