England netballer Natalie Metcalf has withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games squad in Glasgow after picking up a calf injury, with scans confirming she cannot continue. The 33-year-old, who only returned to the sport in December after giving birth 14 months ago, described the news as devastating, and her exit is significant because she was the only player in the current squad who featured in England's 2018 Commonwealth gold-medal win in Australia.

Metcalf has been replaced in the squad by Ella Clark. England, ranked third in the world, sit in Pool A alongside top-ranked Australia, South Africa, Malawi, Tonga and Northern Ireland, and begin their campaign against Northern Ireland on 25 July. Head coach Anna Stembridge said the squad was "gutted" for Metcalf, praising her comeback journey after motherhood, while Metcalf previously captained England to a bronze-medal defeat by New Zealand at the 2022 Games in Birmingham.