Still managing the calf harm that marred her FIFA Women’s World Cup marketing campaign, Matildas captain Sam Kerr’s taking part in minutes will likely be restricted throughout Australia’s three Olympic Games qualifiers in Perth
The Matildas will play towards Iran, the Philippines and Chinese Taipei on Thursday night time, Sunday and subsequent Wednesday night time respectively, with the winner of the group assured a spot within the subsequent spherical of qualifiers in February.
And whereas Perth followers will see hometown hero Kerr in motion, Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson mentioned on Wednesday that the star striker wouldn’t play 90 minutes in any of the video games, and that he was but to determine whether or not to begin Australia’s skipper or use her off the bench.
Kerr’s minutes for Chelsea within the new English Women’s Super League season have additionally been managed as she continues her restoration from the torn calf that led to her showing in simply 4 of Australia’s seven World Cup matches, and solely two as a starter.
“She would love to play in front of friends and family, and say thank you for everything,” Gustavsson mentioned.
“I would love to play her 90 minutes. I think everyone watching the game would love to see her 90 minutes, but we’ve always said we want to have a healthy high-performance culture in here with a player-centric approach.
“Considering she’s coming back from injury very recently – she hasn’t played 90 minutes in a very long time, not for club either, with that calf issue coming back – we really need to be extremely mindful.”
“We can expect to see some rotation in this tournament, so we don’t overload her with minutes. Then it’s up to me to know when do I get maximum out of those minutes that she has.
“Is it starting and then taking her off? Is it having her on the bench and (bringing) her on? And how do I plan those three games?”
Criticised by some for an absence of squad rotation in the course of the World Cup, Gustavsson mentioned he would use extra gamers over the three video games in Perth, all of that are bought out, as a result of fast turnaround between video games and a few squad members arriving later in Western Australia than others due to abroad membership commitments.
“Because of the physicality, the wellbeing and the protection of the players, don’t be surprised if you’re going to see much more rotation in the roster this tournament than you did in the World Cup,” he mentioned.
Gustavsson was delighted that 100,000 folks throughout the three matches would watch the Matildas dwell, with the run of bought out matches for group on dwelling soil now stretching to 11 successive video games.
“It makes me proud to be a small part of something much bigger than football,” he mentioned.
“The interest in the team and the support in this nation now when it comes to this team and women’s football is one of the successes. When you measure success, it’s not just the results.
“Thanks for the way you have welcomed us these few days that we’ve been (in Perth) so far, but also for the support you’re going to give us in the games. It’s amazing.”
Source: www.news.com.au
