26 July 2023 , 11:11
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Australia women’s team manager Tony Gustavsson is refusing to pinpoint when captain Sam Kerr will return to the starting XI as injury threatens to hamper her World Cup on home soil.
Kerr is not fit to play against reigning Olympic champions Nigeria this Thursday, with Gustavsson admitting that “right now we don’t have what grade (of injury) it is”.
Matildas captain and Chelsea forward Kerr was ruled out of Australia’s opening match against Ireland in Sydney last week, after suffering a calf injury just hours before their campaign began. Australia won 1-0 against a highly defensive Ireland thanks to a second-half penalty from Steph Catley in front of the record-breaking crowd at Stadium Australia.
The loss of their skipper was a cruel blow to Australia, although striker Caitlin Foord insists that Kerr will “definitely be back this tournament”. Boss Gustavsson has been reluctant to rush their star player back onto the pitch, stating that a decision on Kerr’s availability “won’t be made until the day before the game”.
Kerr has promised she will recover in time for Australia’s final group stage match against Canada. Her team-mate and Man City forward Mary Fowler has also been ruled out of the match against the Super Falcons, after sustaining a mild concussion during training. Gustavsson refuted accusations that overly intensive training sessions had contributed towards the injury, remarking that “football is football”.
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“When it comes to the training, I totally understand, if you didn’t see the training, if I were you sitting out there, I would go ‘what the heck is happening in training?’”, Gustavsson commented. “Two concussions in one training, two days out from the game. But it was completely normal training."
“Two separate incidents – it’s a bit unreal to be honest. I never experienced anything like it,” he added.
Sam Kerr has been sidelined with a calf injury (Getty Images)Aivi Luik is also out for the Thursday game due to a concussion, with Football Australia’s protocols requiring that players rest for six days post-incident. Gustavsson said that “you have to have the biggest respect for player health - if a player is ruled out, they’re ruled out”.
“Sometimes you’re unlucky and you need to deal with the cards you are handed,” said Gustavsson. “We’re ready to play those cards. We have a lot of attacking options still in the roster, but this team has also showed that we’re adaptable.”
The Matildas are plagued with issues at the moment, with attacker Kyah Simon unavailable after returning from a long-term ACL injury. Simon scored twice against Nigeria during their 2015 World Cup Campaign, resulting in a 3-1 win at the Winnipeg Stadium.
Kerr has been involved in training but will not feature against Nigeria (DARREN ENGLAND/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)The Super Falcons are also in disarray, having lost the 2022 African Cup of Nations - a title they held for over seven years. Team members are rebelling against their “incompetent” head coach Randy Waldrum, threatening boycotts over pay and working conditions.
Waldrum commented on the Matildas’ string of injuries: “Well, we never like to see players injured and I know how devastating that is, missing matches in the World Cup,”.
“But I don't think it really changes our tactics and what we're trying to do - they obviously still have a lot of weapons that can hurt you.
“I know a lot of their players really well from playing back in the NWSL when I was coaching in the pro league and I know the quality of those players so we can't go into the match thinking we're at some advantage for that reason.”