Australia suffered a hammer blow after it was confirmed that captain Sam Kerr would miss the opening two games of the Women’s World Cup with a calf injury.
Kerr picked up the injury in training on Wednesday ahead of this morning’s opening game against Republic of Ireland in Sydney.
The striker has been ruled out of the Matildas’ opening two group games, meaning she will also miss the clash with Nigeria on July 27, and Australia’s medical staff will assess her to see if she can play against Olympic champions Canada on July 31.
In a post on Instagram, Kerr 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 apart of this amazing journey.”
In Kerr’s absence, Arsenal defender Steph Catley was given the honour of captaining Australia for their opener.
Manchester City forward Mary Fowler was brought into the attack to replace Kerr and partner Arsenal forward Caitlin Foord up front.
