England internationals Serena Guthrie and Jo Harten are set to return to the Roses 2020-21 programme after spending time away from the sport.

Both players stepped away from netball after their bronze medal-winning campaign at the 2019 World Cup in Liverpool. 

Harten, 31, took six months off and Guthrie, 30, took a year off, and now both players have been selected under head coach Jess Thirlby.

The squad were meant to be getting ready to for the Quad Series later in the year but the event has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

International fixtures for next season have not yet been announced. 

Thirlby said: "It is wonderful to see some experienced names coming back into the programme after taking a well-deserved break following the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup, including the likes of Jo Harten and Serena Guthrie.

"We have a real mix of new and experienced talent in this group, from rising stars like Razia Quashie, to Jade Clarke who has 176 caps for England under her belt.

"It's a really strong and diverse group to be working with, which is exciting and shows the strength in depth we have in character and ability.

“We are working hard to establish clarity regarding what will happen with 2020-21 international fixtures due to the current climate and as soon as we can safely all come back together, we will be raring to get back out there in front of the netball family.”

Vitality Roses Athletes selected for the 2020-21 International Season:

Serena Guthrie, Razia Quashie , Sophie Drakeford-Lewis, Beth Cobden, Jade Clarke, Laura Malcolm, Stacey Francis, Geva Mentor, Jodie Gibson, Imogen Allison, Kadeen Corbin, Francesca Williams, Yasmin Parsons, Joanne Harten, Layla Guscoth, Chelsea Pitman, Vicki Oyesola, Gabriella Marshall, Natalie Panagarry, George Fisher, Eleanor Cardwell, Helen Housby, Kate Shimmin and Natalie Haythornthwaite .