Sam Kerr injury details come to light amid worrying Matildas World Cup truth

More details have come to light about the injury to Matildas captain Sam Kerr that rocked Australia on Thursday night and what it means for the star striker's Women's World Cup campaign. The Matildas got their tournament off to the ideal start - even if it was nervy and a little sloppy - with a tense 1-0 win over Ireland in front of a record crowd of 75,342 fans in Sydney.

The figure was the largest crowd to ever turn out for a home Matildas game but they - along with the rest of the country were rocked when Kerr was named as a late scratching before kick-off. The Matildas captain took to social media to announce the bad news to fans, revealing she had strained her calf in training on Wednesday.

'SO STRESSED': Sam Kerr's 'worry' about facing girlfriend at World Cup

WOMEN'S WORLD CUP: How to watch every minute of action

'GOOSEBUMPS': Extraordinary Matildas detail takes nation by storm

Kerr made no mention of the injury when she fronted a press conference after sustaining the injury on Wednesday, with Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson explaining after Thursday night's game why the Aussies decided to keep the injury a secret. As well as not wanting to provide their opposition with valuable information, he said it was also about protecting their star player, who was seen in tears on the bench before kick-off.

“Some people might wonder why we weren’t honest in the press conference," Gustavsson told Channel 7. "We didn’t have all the information either. We were waiting for the scans at that moment too.

“A lot of it is tactics and you don’t want to give away anything. Sam is a massive part of our game plan and Ireland’s game plan. We wanted to protect Sam and the team emotionally not to have to answer all the questions.

“It was a tough 24 hours mentally for the team. I think they handled it magnificently. The way Sam led the team speech in the locker room and today as well, she means a lot for the team, even though she is not on the park.”

Ireland coach Vera Pauw confirmed her side only found out about Kerr’s absence when the Aussie team sheet came out about an hour before kick-off. There were signs something was amiss for Kerr, when she was conspicuously absent for a team walk in Sydney that the Matildas posted on their social media channels on game day.

Kerr is set to miss the Matildas' next World Cup group game against Nigeria in six days, with Gustavsson declaring her no chance of playing. The Aussie skipper's calf will be reassessed in a week and they're hopeful she'll be able to feature in Australia's crunch final group game against World No.7 Canada, although the popular @nrlphysio account suggests that might be pushing it.

Sam Kerr in doubt for rest of group stage

“The common return range for minor calf strains is 1-3 weeks - with the medical staff looking to reassess Kerr in just over a weeks time it gives some hope she’s fit for their game on Monday 31st,” he tweeted. “Would think with the nature of calf injuries though the match after that more likely.”

Gustavsson is confident the Matildas will find their attacking groove even if he is shorn of Kerr's firepower. A second-half penalty from stand-in skipper Steph Catley got Australia home against a tenacious Irish side on Thursday night, and the Australia coach saw enough positives to take out of the match.

"We just needed to find a way to win. I've been around tournament football for long enough to know that sometimes it's those games where you just need to grind through and find a way to win," Gustavsson said.

"That showed some maturity in this team ... with five (World Cup) debutants, they could have gotten really nervous and frustrated that we didn't play good enough but they didn't lose their heads. I'm really happy about that."

Catley described Australia's first game as "sloppy", and the absence of their talismanic striker undoubtedly played a part. However, Gustavsson put the scrappy performance down to the pressure of playing in a tournament opener on home soil.

"We know we can do better in attack," he said. "I think we showed that in parts of the attack, when we had some good combination play down the right hand side.

"A couple of times in the beginning of the second half we played faster and had more movements off the ball and played with a little bit more confidence. I hope that playing the first game in the World Cup now will tick that box mentally."

with AAP

Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.