Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson says Sam Kerr could face a late fitness test on the day of the Matildas’ final group stage match against Canada to determine if she can feature.
The 29-year-old striker was ruled out of Australia’s first two group matches with a calf injury sustained the day before the co-hosts’ World Cup opener.
Kerr, Australia’s all-time top scorer, is set to be reassessed ahead of Monday’s crucial match against Canada and Gustavsson said it would be “tight” as to whether she could be fit to return.
“All I can say now is that I hope so,’ Gustavsson replied when asked about Kerr’s availability.
‘I know it’s going to be tight. I said in a press conference yesterday, I most likely will not get the confirmation on that until the night before the game. And then we’ll go from there.
“It might even be we need to test her to see if she can play on game day. That’s how tight it is, I know that, I can say already now so everyone knows what it’s like.
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“I know we’re going to get questions from now all the way to the game, but I can say already now I’m not going to be able to tell you that until either the night before the game or on game day, because that’s how long we’ll have to wait to see if she’s available or not.”
In Kerr’s absence, Australia beat the Republic of Ireland in their opening group match before losing 3-2 to Nigeria on Thursday.
The defeat to Nigeria leaves Australia third in Group A and means they must beat Olympic champions Canada if they are to progress to the knockout stages.
“She (Kerr) is going to do anything she can to be out there,” Gustavsson added. “I know that she wants to be out there and she deserves to be out there.
“If she’s available, we just need to come up with a plan together, to see what’s the best to maximise the potential minutes that she has going into this game.”
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