Australia's Sam Kerr to have pre-match fitness test to determine playing status
Sam Kerr faces a dramatic late fitness test ahead of Australia's all-or-nothing Women's World Cup clash against Canada on Monday, with the host nation holding its breath to see if its superstar forward can rescue the team's stuttering campaign.
Kerr has been absent for the Matildas' first two games of the tournament after sustaining a calf injury the day before the World Cup began. Her influence, as one of the best players in the world and an Australian soccer icon, has been sorely missed.
Australia coach Tony Gustavsson, the former United States national team assistant, has been cagey with the amount of information he has been willing to disclose about Kerr's training involvement and overall discomfort.
However, the 29-year-old was being evaluated by medical staff throughout game day before the Canada showdown at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Monday (coverage begins at 5:30 a.m. ET, with kickoff at 6 a.m on FOX and the FOX Sports app).
A final test will take place nearer game time, at which point a determination will be made.
"There's a lot on the table to discuss, and we probably won't know how exactly we're going to use that until we come into the stadium," Gustavsson told reporters. "I want to be clear that we knew she was going to miss the first two games and then be assessed going into this game, and that was going to go down to the wire."
There are essentially three options. One is that Kerr starts the game and tries to make as much of an impact as possible in the early stages. In a situation where, for example, Australia has the lead — and they almost certainly have to win to advance — she could be taken off as a precaution and a more defensive strategy deployed.
Sam Kerr discusses her potential return after calf injury
Perhaps most likely is that Kerr could also be held back and used from the bench if needed, her minutes determined by the status of the game at that time.
The final option, in the case of an unfavorable finding from the fitness test, would be to leave her out altogether and preserve her for potential knockout round action, while hoping the squad can produce a victory without her.
"We're going to have a meeting with the medical team and Sam, and discuss what the possibility is for her to play," Gustavsson added. "Calf injuries, one thing is that you're available, but there's also risk when you come back from a muscle injury. We need to balance how many minutes is she available with what are the risks if we manage to go through."
Kerr has said she is "available" but did not elaborate much further when she spoke to reporters over the weekend at the team's training base in Brisbane.
Nigeria currently tops Group B with four points on account of its upset victory over the Aussies. Canada also has four but is second on goals scored, while Australia sits in third on three. Nigeria faces already eliminated Ireland (0 points) knowing that a draw or better would secure it a place in the knockout round.
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter at @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
