Credit: Twitter
The Aussies have suffered a crucial blow in their world cup campaign, even before it begins, as their captain and lead striker Sam Kerr has sustained a calf injury during training and is expected to miss out on the first two matches of the world cup. The injury, according to the team's official statement, was sustained during their final pre-game session on Wednesday morning in Brisbane.
Mary Fowler, a striker for Manchester City, was chosen to replace Kerr in the Australian starting lineup. In the team's victory over France last Friday during warm-ups, Fowler scored the lone goal.
On Wednesday night, Kerr presided over a press conference and made no mention of any issues. But she took to Instagram to announce the injury after Football Australia broke the news on Thursday. The 29-year-old Kerr posted on Instagram, and wrote, “Unfortunately I sustained a calf injury yesterday in training. I wanted to share this with everyone so there is no distraction from us doing what we came here to achieve. Of course, I would have loved to have been out there tonight but I can't wait to be a part of this amazing journey which starts now.”
Injury problems for coach Tony Gustavsson are made worse by Kerr's absence. Knowing that veteran Kyah Simon might not be available until the knockout round, the squad chose her despite the fact that she is still healing from a severe ACL injury. Tameka Yallop, though, was injured in a hard collision during last week's France match and has not yet been able to resume full training.
With 168 international appearances and 63 goals for Australia, the Chelsea forward has been the captain since 2019. After helping her side Chelsea win the Women's Super League and the FA Cup in the 2022–23 season, Kerr left for the World Cup. Kerr finished this season's WSL top scorers list in fourth place with 12 goals.
The Australian team will suffer greatly as a result of Kerr's absence because they are considered to be among the top contenders for the World Cup, which will take place from July 20 to August 20. Australia will square off against Ireland at the Stadium Australia on July 20 and against Nigeria a week later, on July 27 in Brisbane.
