Ingle

Ingle – who left in 2015 for a three-year spell at Liverpool before swiching to west London – previously captained the Bristol side in her first spell with the club.

“It’s about feeling valued as well,” said Ingle. “Bristol City want the women’s team at Ashton Gate and that for us as a women’s team is really important.

“For someone like myself who’s been through different teams and not always had that representation from a football club, those small things mean a lot to me.”

Bristol City will play all their home games at Ashton Gate this season, following the conclusion of the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Ashton Gate hosts both semi-finals as New Zealand take on Canada on Friday night and England take on France on Saturday afternoon.

Ingle is one of more than 10 new signings for the club as they target a return to the Women’s Super League.

“When I first spoke to Charlotte [Healy, head coach] her demands and standards were very high which linked with mine.

“It’s obviously going to be hard, WSL2 is always such a tight league, each team can take points off everyone, so it’s never set in stone that team A is going to win.

“It’s going to be a long season and we’re going to have to find ways to keep digging in and getting points on the board.

“Come the business end of the season we want to be in a position where we can get promoted.

“This football club deserves to be in the top division and I think we can get there.”

Wilkinson said assessment of Rhiannon Roberts is also “ongoing”, with the 79-cap defender suffering a fitness issue on the eve of the 1-0 loss in Odense that confirmed the side’s relegation from the top tier of the Nations League.

But the Wales boss said neither were being ruled out at this stage, with the squad for the Euros being named on 19 June.

However, Wilkinson did say Ingle is “on track” to be part of that selection after the “milestone” of training with team-mates in a session before the game with Italy.

“It was great to see her back,” said Wilkinson of the 141-cap former captain, who is also continuing rehabilitation at Chelsea despite announcing her departure from the Women’s Super League (WSL) champions following the end of the season.

“Any injury is a lonely place to be… and one of the big gains is not just being back on the field with the ball, but being back with team-mates.

“She’s done it with her club and now she’s done it with her international team-mates.

“That milestone is such a boost and you could see it in her, it was a big moment.”

But with Wales’ match with Italy their final fixture before they open their Euro 2025 campaign against Switzerland – and Ingle having not played a competitive match for so long – Wilkinson said she would remain cautious.

“She’s in a great space and she doesn’t feel like she’s overextending herself, because when players in stressful situations try to rush back from major injuries that’s when you can see reoccurrence,” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson added that Ingle will be part of a training camp in Portugal in the tournament build-up,

“That’s why we want to do it properly. It’s very obvious we want her with us in Switzerland, everything is tracking that way, but she will not be rushed or pushed,” said Wilkinson.

“The most important thing is being able to play, not 90 minutes, but can she contribute?

“She’s aware there will be conversations coming up to the tournament and she’s doing everything she needs to, to be coming to Switzerland with us.”

Fellow defender Lois Joel added: “Sophie’s such a core part of our group, so well respected, so it’s great to have her back in whatever capacity.

“It was great to see her smiling and kicking a ball – and she barely looks rusty.”