Matilda’s bombshell as Sam Kerr is spotted wearing an ice pack on her calf as Tony Gustavsson gives an update on the Women’s World Cup semi-final against England…but is all as it seems?
- Sam Kerr’s right calf was heavily bandaged after practice on Tuesday
- The Matildas superstar injured her left calf ahead of the tournament
- WATCH: ‘It All Begins’ – Episode 1 – The brand new football show from Mail Sport
Australia got a major scare ahead of their World Cup semi-final against England when Sam Kerr was spotted with a heavily strapped right calf on Tuesday.
The Matildas star was wearing an ice pack on her right calf as he walked into the team hotel with her teammates after practice on Tuesday.
Kerr, the Matildas captain and all-time leading goalscorer, injured her left calf a day before Australia’s opener against the Republic of Ireland last month and missed all three group stage matches as a result.
The Chelsea striker came off the bench for the last 10 minutes of their 2-0 victory over Denmark in the Round of 16 and was introduced after 55 minutes in Saturday’s quarter-final against France.
Kerr converted one of the penalties as the Matildas beat France 7–6 in a penalty shootout to progress to a World Cup semi-final for the first time in their history.
Sam Kerr was spotted returning to the team hotel with a heavily strapped right calf
The Matildas star trained regularly with her teammates earlier on Tuesday
Your browser does not support iframes.
The 29-year-old said on Monday she was ‘ready to go’ against France after shrugging off the calf injury she sustained in training for the tournament, but revealed the plan was always to get her fit for the semi finals.
“When I hurt my calf, the plan was always to (try to) be ready for a semi-final, the final.
“So I could have started against France, but who knows what could have happened?
“The girls crushed it and absolutely dominated.
“I was ready to go, but we had a plan this whole tournament and we had to stick to it.
“That was part of the plan, to get 20 minutes against Denmark to feel better for this game and now with another, what, 65 minutes, it makes me feel better and have more training under my belt.
So I feel ready to go. I think with everything that’s going on, the best thing for (the game against France) was the plan we did and the plan we followed.”
Australia is currently in a state of Matildas mania, with the question of whether Kerr’s condition has been the most hotly debated topic in the country since she retired at 9am on July 19 with pain in her calf, at the Queensland Sports and Athletic Center base of the team in Brisbane.
At his press conference on Tuesday, Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson remained coy when asked if Kerr would be fit enough to start at Stadium Australia on Wednesday night.
“She (Kerr) pushed through more minutes than we hoped to be honest,” he said.
“One of the reasons we kept her on the bench was that we weren’t sure how many minutes she had to come back from that calf injury, but also the limited training minutes she had.
“The way she persevered was fantastic and impressive, both mentally and physically.
Matilda’s boss Tony Gustavsson remained coy about whether Kerr would start against England
“She’s recovered well, she trained today so she’s available.”
Gustavsson confirmed that all 23 players in the squad were available for selection, but admitted he faced some ‘tough decisions’ before naming his starting squad for the semi-finals.
“There’s another meeting tonight to see the best starting 11 and the best finishing 11 and whether we plan 90 minutes or schedule extra time and decisions like that,” he said.
“Tough decisions will be made again tonight, but Sam is definitely available for selection.”