Chelsea forward Sam Kerr has declared herself fit to feature in Australia’s final FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 group stage match against Canada on Monday.
Kerr has missed The CommBank Matildas’ first two matches at the tournament with a calf injury. While the player has sat out on the sidelines, Australia have taken three points from their first two matches and they must defeat Canada in Melbourne on Monday to keep their FIFA Women’s World Cup hopes alive.
When speaking in a Football Australia press conference, Kerr confirmed that she is available for selection for the Canada match.
“I’m going to be ready,” the forward said. “Like we said at the very start of this, the plan was to miss the first two games and reassess and that’s where we are now.
“I had my boots on today which was very exciting. I feel very excited about Monday.”
Kerr sustained her injury on the eve of the start of the tournament. While the spotlight has been very much upon her, she has continued to look at the bigger picture.
She said “Obviously, it’s not ideal, the shock of it happening. I’ve still had hope, I’ve never had an injury like this in my career and touch wood, this is the last. Normally, if I’ve had an injury, it has been a big one where I have been out for months on end, so it is an easy pill to swallow but with these ones, it is a bit more annoying.
“It was disappointing but I had to suck it up. I’m part of a team, I’m not part of an individual sport, it’s not about me and that’s what I’ve done.”
Australia fell to a shock 3-2 defeat to Nigeria in their second group match, a result which has left their FIFA Women’s World Cup hopes dangling dangerously going into the Canada game. Kerr believes that the team have already hit the reset button.
“I’m really confident,” Kerr said. “Last time we played Canada, we didn’t get the result but we had four or five players missing. We feel really confident, we have grown so much over the last year.
“Yesterday, was a day to digest the game (against Nigeria) but today, we woke up with a spring in our step and everyone is feeling really good.”
Australia’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 group stage fixture against Canada kicks-off at 11am on Monday morning.
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