It was mixed injury news for the Matildas as the Australian national team returned to the training field on Sunday for the first-time since their Women’s World Cup opening night win over Ireland.
The team had enjoyed a rest-day on Saturday having travelled back from Sydney on Friday, but were back in action in sunny conditions at their Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre home-base on Sunday morning.
Midfield dynamo Tameka Yallop returned to a full training load having suffered a corked thigh in the Matildas’ warm-up match against France a week and a half ago. “It was only a minor injury against France, so that was quite lucky for me,” Yallop told reporters on Sunday. “I’m back on the park and good to go. I did a full session and feel quite comfortable.”
But captain Sam Kerr was left to watch on as her team-mates trained, after the Chelsea star suffered a calf injury mid-week that kept her out of the Ireland clash. Fellow forward Kyah Simon was also out of action, continuing her gradual return from an ACL injury, while defensive pairing Clare Hunt and Alanna Kennedy trained separately for load management reasons.
Kerr is not expected to return from injury until at least the final group match, against Canada, or even later in the tournament. But Yallop downplayed the impact of the captain’s absence on the team.
“TG [coach Tony Gustavsson] does very well at training, we do a lot of rotations – there’s never really the same team out on the field at one point,” said Yallop. “The girls already knew what we were doing, if we were rotating a player, one coming in and one coming out. It’s second nature for us and the girls did really well pushing on [against Ireland].”
Kerr seemed upbeat as she watched on from the sidelines on Sunday, and Yallop indicated that the captain was in good spirits and contributing off the pitch. “Sam is just like any other player,” said the veteran. “We’re a team of 23. She supports us from the bench and we support her right back.”
But the unavailability of Kerr and Simon will test the Matildas’ attacking potency, who will be reliant on Manchester City’s Mary Fowler and Arsenal’s Caitlin Foord to lead the line against Nigeria, together with various options off the bench.
“I think we’ve got the best squad we’ve had,” added Yallop. “We’re all really prepared. I think you could play any one of us right now in the starting XI and it would be the same as what we do on the training pitch. Everyone is at that ability and capability to step up and be a starter at any point.”
Australia’s 21-year-old defender Charlotte Grant was also back to full health on Sunday, having been hit by illness earlier in the week. The PFA Young Women’s Footballer of the Year had been the last player to join the camp after finishing up her club season in Sweden. “I feel back to my bubbly self, which is nice,” Grant said. “I think the jet-lag might have hit me a little bit.”
Australia play Nigeria in Brisbane on Thursday night, while Ireland face Canada in the other Group B match on Wednesday in Perth. After Canada and Nigeria played out a nil-all draw on Friday, another win for the Matildas would guarantee them a place in the round of 16.
