Sam Kerr ‘national tragedy’ rocks Australia before World Cup opener

Sam Kerr, the face of the 2023 World Cup has, has left Aussie fans devastated with details of her secret injury beginning to emerge.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 20: Sam Kerr (L) and Katrina Gorry (R) of Australia talk while her teammates inspect the pitch prior to the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group B match between Australia and Ireland at Stadium Australia on July 20, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

It wasn’t supposed to go like this.

Sam Kerr has left Aussie fans devastated after a secret calf injury has ruled her out of the first two games of Australia’s campaign.

The Chelsea forward is Australia’s all-time leading scorer and was the face of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and around the world.

Her loss is devastating for the tournament, but even more devastating for the Matildas, who will miss her aerial skills against Ireland and their second group stage match against Nigeria.

The 29-year-old now has just 11 days to recover before the final pool stage game against Canada on July 31.

The Aussie camp kept the injury secret for more than 24 hours, but rumours were leaking out about Kerr’s fitness in the hours leading up to the team announcement.

Sam Kerr of the Matildas will miss the first two World Cup games. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images.

“Unfortunately I sustained a calf injury yesterday in training,” she said in a statement.

“I wanted to share this with everyone so there is no distraction from what we came here to achieve.

“Of course I would have loved to have been out there tonight, but I can’t wait to be a part of this amazing journey which starts now.

Arsenal defender Steph Catley will take over as captain against Ireland, with Mary Fowler starting up front in place of Kerr.

The team said their medical team will “re-assess her following our second group-stage match”.

Kerr made her Australia debut aged just 15 and has gone on to become one of the best players in women’s football, with her profile soaring to new heights since moving to Chelsea in 2020.

She has been shortlisted for the women’s Ballon d’Or and nominated for the Best FIFA Women’s Player consistently since 2017.

In 2019, Kerr became the first Australian, man or woman, to score a hat-trick at a World Cup, but winning a major trophy with her country has eluded her.

Australian sport commentators were stunned when news of her injury came through.

Matildas star Elise Kellond-Knight told Channel 7: “My heart really breaks for Sammy. I know she wants to be out there, I know she wants to be a part of these two games.

“Luckily there’s another 22 players on this team. The team isn’t just Sam Kerr. We saw that on Friday night, so I think we can all be really confident that we can go into this game with plenty more opportunities where we’re going to create really good attacks.

“I think for the average fan out there, they’ll be shocked. I mean, a lot of people only know Sam Kerr for the Matildas, but I can guarantee you there are a lot of superstars in this team and I don’t think we need to be worried or concerned at all going into this game. We’ve got so much depth. If anything, it’s kind of great that we can rest Sam and afford to put her on the sidelines and then look at our other players and create our attacks through those players.”

The Daily Telegraph’s Scott Bailey called it a “Kerr-tastrophe”.

Code Sport’s Lachlan McKirdy posted on Twitter: “Oh no”.

Sport commentator Jordan Patu wrote on Twitter: “This is a national tragedy.”