Matildas superstar Sam Kerr has declared she will be ‘all good’ after a calf injury kept her out of Australia’s World Cup opener on Thursday against the Republic of Ireland. Footage emerged on Friday of Kerr, 29, with a bandaged calf and noticeable limp as she left a Sydney hotel.
‘We want and need Kerr fit for the knockout stages of the tournament,’ he told News Corp.‘To ensure that, she shouldn’t play in Australia’s remaining Group B matches against Nigeria and Canada.
She confirmed she is feeling fine and confident of beating the injury – with her appearance coming as Socceroos great Robbie Slater suggested the captain be rested for three games instead of the two she’s supposed to miss, meaning she wouldn’t play until the World Cup round of 16.
‘[For me], the Matildas have enough depth to finish in the top two of Group B, if not win it. ‘Soft tissue injuries can be tricky so Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson needs to be smart in deciding when Kerr should return. ‘He can’t let emotion get the better of him. There is no need to rush Kerr back.’
Stand-in skipper Steph Catley, who scored the winner from the penalty spot in a 1-0 win over the Girls in Green, said Kerr missing the tournament opener on home soil was ‘one of the most heartbreaking moments of my career’.
‘Everyone looked at it and said, “Well, I’ve got to step up now because we don’t have Sam.” We spoke about that and we did that really well.’ Catley also insisted Kerr, Australia’s all-time leading scorer with 63 goals in 121 games, would still play a crucial role while injured.
‘Sam’s one of the best players in the world. She’s our spiritual leader. She means so much to this team,’ the left back said. ‘So to have her go down a day before a moment like this was was pretty awful, but as a team, it added something to us, it added a little bit of extra fire.
‘Sam’s still around she’s still got her effect on the team,’ she said. ‘She’s in every meeting. She’s in there at halftime talking to everyone, she’s doing the pre-game talk and she’s still with us.
‘So we will do everything we can to get as far as we can and then hopefully we see Sam later on.‘For as long as maybe she misses she’s still got a role. She’s massive for us and she’s so, so important. ‘She’s our spiritual leader and whatever role she plays will be massive.’
