Sarina Wiegman says former captain Steph Houghton's chances of going to the World Cup with England are "not that high" but she will "never close the door" on selection.
Houghton, 34, has 121 England caps, but has not played for her country since 2021 having suffered injury problems.
The defender is yet to play under Wiegman and was replaced as captain by Arsenal's Leah Williamson last summer.
"It is difficult because she has done so much for the game," said Wiegman.
"Everyone trains so hard and so does she. She wants of course to come back. But we had some more players I really had to disappoint with the choices I made.
"That always makes it hard but what I try to do is communicate it and give some context about my choices."
Earlier this week Manchester City's Houghton said dealing with omission from the England squad had been "mentally tough".
She captained England for eight years and told BBC Radio 5 Live she wanted "closure on the situation".
"I thought I was probably in the best position over March and April, but sometimes no matter what you do, you're not going to please someone," she added.
Wiegman has numerous options in defence for England ahead of this year's tournament, which runs 20 July - 20 August in Australia and New Zealand, with captain Williamson and Chelsea's Millie Bright the first-choice pairing at centre-back.
Manchester City's Alex Greenwood, Arsenal's Lotte Wubben-Moy, Chelsea's Jess Carter and Manchester United's Maya Le Tissier were also named in this month's squad.
"It's hard. At the moment [Houghton's] in a hard position because I don't want to take out the players who are in that position because they're doing really well," added Wiegman.
"So the chances are not that high [for Houghton to go to the World Cup], but I will never close the door because when you are in international football you want everyone to be available.
"But at this moment, I make other choices."
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