Whether Sam Kerr performs any half within the FIFA Women’s World Cup stays a thriller, with the Matildas persevering with their makes an attempt to deflect consideration away from the celebrity striker’s calf harm.
Kerr will miss a second successive Matildas’ Group B recreation on Thursday evening when match co-hosts Australia meet Nigeria at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
Before the beginning of Wednesday’s pre-match press convention, Matildas media supervisor Ann Odong put a restrict on the variety of inquiries to “one or two” that may very well be requested about staff captain Kerr’s harm “out of respect” to the participant’s needs.
However, as one journalist identified, “respect” labored each methods, saying that Matildas followers deserved “clarity” on Kerr’s harm as a result of the knowledge had been “particularly vague”, resulting in “rumours”.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson agreed that supporters deserved “respect”, however that in addition they needed what was “best for the team”, which was to “focus” on the sport towards Nigeria with the gamers that have been obtainable for choice.
“We’ve been as open as we can be to say it’s calf injury that’s going to be reassessed after the Nigeria game,” Gustavsson mentioned.
“Me personally, I don’t know more than that, as of now. I just focus on the players that I have available for (Thursday night) and I know that’s how Sam wants it as well, and I’m sure that the majority of the fans out there want us to focus on the player that are available to play the game.”
However, warning of additional delays concerning the severity of Kerr’s harm, Gustavsson mentioned he would wait till Sunday earlier than giving an replace on the skipper’s availability.
Defender Steph Catley, who will once more captain the Matildas on Thursday evening in Kerr’s absence, mentioned accidents Kerr, and Mary Fowler and Aivi Luik, who have been each concussed at coaching on Tuesday, was the “last thing” the Matildas needed.
“In particular, this tournament has been very exciting and a big moment for all of us as Australian player’s probably the biggest moment of our careers, so it’s the last thing that you want to see your teammates and friends going through,” Catley mentioned.
“But in saying that it’s football, and it happens to every single footballer on the entire planet. We’re not the first team that’s had injuries in major tournaments, and we won’t be the last, so it’s just how we gather, it’s how the rest of the squad bounces back and performs in a high pressure situation in the biggest games.
“That’s something over the last few years we’ve really developed, We’ve got a squad that is capable of winning games at any given point no matter who’s in what position, so I back every single player that’s out there no matter what, and hopefully the girls get healthy and ready to get back into the squad very quickly.”
Gustavsson mentioned he hadn’t spoken to his squad about any further significance to seal qualification to the match’s knockout stage with a win over Nigeria to maybe ease stress on needing to make use of gamers towards who weren’t totally match.
“We haven’t brought it up as a topic … but I know these players as well with how experienced they are and how mentally strong they are,” he mentioned.
“They do the maths, but also they know how to approach a good performance. Take one moment at a time, stick to the game plan, trust the game plan, trust each other … and then follow that.
“Focus on performance first, and the result will take care of itself.”
Originally printed as The Matildas stay in no hurry to expose the severity of Sam Kerr’s calf harm
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
