Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson has defended his training methods in the wake of the Matildas’ injury crisis worsening ahead of Thursday’s game against Nigeria.
The World Cup co-hosts were already without captain Sam Kerr, who injured her calf ahead of last week’s opening win over the Republic of Ireland, but now Aivi Luik, Kyah Simon and Mary Fowler are out too.
The trio will all miss the game against Nigeria, while midfielder Tameka Yallop is expected to only play limited minutes as she returns from a thigh injury.
The absence of Fowler is a particular blow for Australia as the 20-year-old replaced Kerr in the starting line-up last week.
Fowler and Luik are out of tomorrow’s game with mild concussions, while Simon is returning from a long-term ACL injury.
“When it comes to the training, I totally understand, if you didn’t see the training, if I were you sitting out there, I would go: ‘What the heck is happening in training?’,” said Gustavsson.
“Two concussions in one training, two days out from the game. But it was completely normal training.
“Sometimes you’re unlucky and you need to deal with the cards you are handed.”
A win for Australia will book them a place in the last-16 and they will hope to have Kerr back by then.
The Chelsea striker was ruled out when she got injured last week and she will be assessed ahead of the final group match with Canada on July 31.
Gustavsson said he was unable to provide a further update on the status of captain Kerr.
“We have been as open as we can be to say it is a calf injury that is going to be reassessed after the Nigeria game,” he said.
