Sam Kerr rules out taking any risks in Olympics qualifiers
Once it was Harry Kewell’s groin and Tim Cahill’s foot. Now Sam Kerr’s thigh has become the subject of intense focus as the Matildas star battles injury ahead of the Olympics qualifiers.
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- The Matildas helping football hit new heights in England
- Chinese team in isolation ahead of qualifiers
Update: Sam Kerr can’t help but smile, amused by the focus on a few centimetres of leg muscle.
In the past we’ve had Harry Kewell’s groin or Tim Cahill’s match fitness as the subject of national debate.
The fact that it’s now Kerr’s quad that is the injury of the hour — and whether it will keep her out of three Olympic qualifiers in Sydney over the next week — says everything about her standing, and that of her team.
Kewell’s groin was even granted its own column once. We might not be at that stage yet, but surrounded by a phalanx of cameras and as many more reporters, some 80 per cent of the questions posed to Kerr were about the thigh strain she picked up on moving to Chelsea last month, and whether she’ll be fit to face Taiwan on Friday night.
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The other 20 per cent, for the record, were mostly about how the team would cope in her absence. But for the coronavirus Kerr and the Matildas squad would have been in China, where the tournament was meant to be held, and away from the spotlight. Instead, back on Australian soil, her strain is a hot topic.
“A little injury like that is being blown out of proportion,” Kerr smiled after the cameras had gone. “I’ve been training all week and doing everything.
“It’s just that last little bit, and (playing) three games in a few days is dangerous for anyone carrying an injury. It’s just about managing it.”
Not that the focus left her fazed. As captain, lead striker and globally regarded player, it comes with the territory.
“We embrace it for sure, this is what we’ve wanted forever,” she said. “We’re so lucky that the nation has got behind us and is invested in the team.
“We’re really proud of it, we’ve done a lot of hard work and it’s really cool to be a part of it.”
She also made a fair point – that four years ago, amid what was an even tougher schedule of five games in 10 days, a Kerr-less Matildas squad breezed through qualification for the last Olympics. She was injured for the 2012 qualifiers too.
“I wasn’t at the last Olympics (qualifying) and it was probably the Matildas’ best tournament ever,” she said. “It seems every time there’s Olympic qualifiers I’m injured, and I have no worries at all that the girls will play their best this week.
“I don’t think many players will play all three (games) this week, so it’s going to be different circumstances for everyone. This injury’s been hanging around for a little bit. I just want to get it right. I’m not even sitting out training.”
She will get an extra day to prepare for China, the last and most important game, with FIFA and the players’ clubs agreeing to the Matildas staying for an extra day so it can now take place on Thursday next week.
“As a footballer, any time you get an injury, it is hard. It’s been quite frustrating that it’s been lingering around for a while.
“But I’ve had way worse injuries than this one, so at the same time I feel very lucky that I’m still in a position where I can come into camp and help the Matildas go as far as they can in this qualification process.”
Originally published as Sam Kerr rules out taking any risks in Olympics qualifiers