Alanna Kennedy’s World Cup is OVER as Matildas finally reveal the reason behind her absence against England…with Aussie star set to miss third-spot play-off against Sweden

The Matildas will be concussion-free Alanna Kennedy for their Women’s World Cup third place playoff against Sweden.

Kennedy missed the semi-final loss to England through illness, and Football Australia has confirmed she is suffering from delayed concussion symptoms following Australia’s dramatic win over France in the quarter-final.

The centre-back took several blows in that match, most notably colliding with French striker Eugenie Le Sommer, as she was the only player not to take a penalty in Australia’s winning shoot-out.

Kennedy’s absence is a huge blow to Australia’s hopes of winning the play-off at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

The 28-year-old’s air presence, leadership, aggression and organization were sorely missed in Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat to England, with her replacement Clare Polkinghorne unable to produce the same effect.

The Matildas confirmed that the defender is suffering from delayed concussion symptoms

Kennedy’s presence on defense and on attacking set pieces will again be missed against Sweden, whose centre-back Amanda Ilestedt has proved a threat at both ends of the park throughout the tournament.

Polkinghorne, Aivi Luik, Steph Catley and Courtney Nevin are the options to replace Kennedy in central defence.

The Matildas looked tired against England after 120 minutes of play plus penalties against France, and face a tight three-day turnaround to the play-off.

Tireless midfielder Katrina Gorry trained away from her teammates in Friday’s final session, with her left leg in a compression bandage.

Coach Tony Gustavsson might need to turn to Alex Chidiac, Clare Wheeler or Tameka Yallop against the Swedes for a spark in midfield.

Gustavsson has shown little confidence in his bench throughout the tournament, but he may not have a choice given the mileage his starters have covered in their first six games.

Australia has already progressed further in a World Cup, men’s or women’s, than ever before by reaching the semi-finals and is determined to come home with the bronze medal up for grabs.

After coming up short to the US in the bronze medal game at the Tokyo Olympics, the Matildas have some insight into how to pick themselves off the canvas and go again.

Katrina Gorry is a doubter for third place in the playoffs after only training on Friday

“It’s hugely important,” striker Caitlin Foord said.

“The first thing I thought about was the Olympics when we came up short and then we were fighting for the bronze medal.

“Nothing hurt more than losing that game.

“So we have that in mind going into this game and we deserve to go home with something from this tournament.”