Lucy Bronze could make her 100th senior appearance for England as the Lionesses take on the Czech Republic in a friendly on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old right-back, who made her senior international debut in 2013, previously thought injuries might stop her from reaching the milestone.
“I was told at 20 years old that I wouldn’t play past 27,” Bronze said.
“I think that’s why I never set 100 caps as a goal for England, I just wanted to play as much as possible.”
Bronze, who signed for Barcelona from Manchester City in June, has scored 11 goals in her 99 England appearances.
“I’ve just had to work hard on being focused, doing everything right and just hope for the best, and obviously I’ve had a pretty successful career doing the things that I’ve done and my knee injuries haven’t held me back too much,” she added.
“You get struck down with injuries, it’s just part and parcel of it and how you overcome it and how you use it as motivation I suppose.”
Sarina Wiegman’s side return to Brighton’s Amex Stadium on Tuesday (20:00 BST) having defeated Spain at the same ground en route to the final of the Women’s European Championship this summer.
England beat world champions the United States 2-1 in front of 76,000 fans at Wembley on Friday.
