“These are women who have given everything for their country and as our young players come through now, I think having the support of those players around the environment is huge,” Wilkinson added.
“Equally, Jess needs to see a little bit behind the curtain so she can make her decisions about what she might want to do in the future, if she ever retires!”
The Czech Republic game, which will be played in Uherske Hradiste, is Wales’ first competitive fixture since Euro 2025, the maiden women’s major tournament in the nation’s history.
Wales’ hopes of following their European Championship appearance by reaching a first World Cup have not been helped by the loss of Fishlock, the greatest female player in the history of the Welsh game.
But while she feels Fishlock could still contribute on the pitch, Wilkinson says she has to accept her decision to stand down from Wales duty.
“Listen, Jess is one of those players that could play for many more years and she knew that when she retired,” Wilkinson said.
“It’s painful to know that she could probably still step on the pitch, but equally I think it was a great decision that she’s made when she’s healthy, strong and still fully capable to be like ‘OK, I want to focus on my club football at this point’.
“We had really good conversations and Jess is an all-in type person so she wouldn’t say ‘oh I’m good to go for another year’. In her mind if she’s good to go, she’s saying yes to a cycle, whether that’s two or four years, and I don’t think she felt like she had the energy to do that.”
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