By Vince Rugari
The mystery is over. Well, sort of.
Sam Kerr is in. The speculation is out. Well, sort of.
Her left calf, Australia’s most scrutinised muscle, is good to go. She is ready to play. Now it’s just a question of how long she can go for on Monday night against Canada, when the Matildas’ World Cup hopes go on the line in Melbourne. And that one, unsurprisingly, went unanswered.
“I’m definitely going to be available,” she said on Saturday, in her first press conference since the day she injured herself, and as soon as those words left her lips, the dark clouds that gathered over the team after their 3-2 upset loss to Nigeria began to clear.
A journalist asked her to clarify with a follow-up question, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. Are you fit to play if selected?
“Yep.”
Once again, there is hope.
Sam Kerr confirmed she has recovered from a calf injury and is available to play against Canada on Monday night.Credit: Getty
All things considered, it seems unlikely Kerr will start the match, particularly with Mary Fowler also due back from her concussion and able to slot back in up front next to Caitlin Foord to add some much-needed finishing prowess to Australia’s malfunctioning attack.
But the prospect of having their superstar skipper coming off the bench in the second half – taking off her bib in front of a simmering AAMI Park crowd, who she invited to be as feral and hostile to the Canadians as they’d like, short of booing their national anthem – changes the outlook dramatically.
This time, you’d suspect, Gustavsson will have no hesitation using his substitutes.
Sam Kerr was in a positive mood for the Matildas’ press conference in Brisbane on Saturday.Credit: AP
Kerr was fresh from pulling on her boots for a proper training session on Saturday, her first since the World Cup began. It was closed to the media, but it was Kerr’s decision to speak afterwards and let everyone know. This was all part of the plan, she reminded them: the Matildas always said when they dropped her injury bombshell that she would be reassessed ahead of Australia’s third Group B game, and here she is.
Speaking post-match on Thursday night, Gustavsson was only hopeful – not confident – and warned that Kerr would be pushing to play no matter what the team’s medical staff make of her calf. Since then, clearly, the prognosis has improved, although Kerr did not want to give away any further information on her involvement for fear of giving Canada a leg up.
She laughed off questions about how the national obsession with her calf was a sign of the growing popularity of women’s sport, and talked about how much she hates watching games from the sidelines, having been forced to experience it over the last 10 days.
“I’m not a good bench sitter,” she said. “The Ireland game was really enjoyable, and then the Nigeria game was actually quite good, and then it just flipped.
“But that’s sport, man. I have to do what I can to help the team win. I’ve enjoyed being on the other side and realising how important it is, the role you play from the bench. If anything, it’s given me a new perspective on this whole team sport and how it takes a whole team.”
Kerr has rarely in her career had to deal with these sorts of niggling soft-tissue injuries, and it has been a hard road back to not-quite-full fitness. Long days of rehab that didn’t end until about 4pm, carrying the emotional load of uncertainty, knowing that her teammates would be asked incessantly about her.
“It’s more work than when you’re on the training pitch ... but there’s some good candy at the end,” Kerr said, also noting she has been blessed in comparison with so many of her contemporaries who have gone down with far worse injuries, the most recent being England’s star midfielder Kiera Walsh.
She bristled at a question about whether the Matildas had fallen back into “old habits” with their long-ball assault against Nigeria – “I’m not really sure what you’re implying,” she replied, with a touch of venom – and expressed her confidence that Australia’s home World Cup journey would not end prematurely, having aired any grievances about the defeat as a team before parking the topic entirely.
“Yesterday was a day to digest the [Nigeria] game and go through it, but today we woke up with spring in our step,” she said. “We’re a really tight group, and we’re a really honest group. After every game, we meet as a team, and we chat openly and honestly with each other – maybe it’s good things, maybe it’s bad things. Everyone speaks up, and it was the same after the Nigeria game. Honestly, it’s a free room.
“From that moment onwards, it’s prepare for the next game, and I think that’s really important in tournament football: it’s different. It was unfortunate, and we have to learn from it really quickly. We don’t have to dwell on it.”
The Matildas lost their two-match friendly series against Canada last year. But they have improved markedly since then, and the last time they played at AAMI Park, they beat Sweden, ranked No.3 in the world by FIFA. Canada, the reigning Olympic champions, are ranked No.7.
“Last time we played at AAMI ... the crowd was amazing, and it wasn’t even packed out,” she said. “The fans at our hotel, walking down the street, people making us coffee – literally everyone has been so supportive, and we can feel the love and the girls thrive under that.
“Whatever the crowd wants to bring, we’re willing to accept it. We need them and that’s the reason we play. As loud and proud as they can possibly be, and I’m sure me and the girls will be out there doing whatever we can to make them proud.”
Teammate Ellie Carpenter summed up best what it means for the Matildas to have Kerr back.
“When she had her boots on, obviously it was a lovely sight to see,” she said. “Having her available is the biggest boost we can have.”
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2023-07-29 04:37:27Z
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