The Matildas remain in no hurry to divulge the severity of Sam Kerr’s calf injury

Those wanting a proper update on Matildas captain Sam Kerr’s calf injury are likely going to have to wait until Sunday for some news.

Whether Sam Kerr plays any part in the FIFA Women’s World Cup remains a mystery, with the Matildas continuing their attempts to deflect attention away from the superstar striker’s calf injury.

Kerr will miss a second successive Matildas’ Group B game on Thursday night when tournament co-hosts Australia meet Nigeria at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

Before the start of Wednesday’s pre-match press conference, Matildas media manager Ann Odong put a limit on the number of questions to “one or two” that could be asked about team captain Kerr’s injury “out of respect” to the player’s wishes.

However, as one journalist pointed out, “respect” worked both ways, saying that Matildas fans deserved “clarity” on Kerr’s injury because the information had been “particularly vague”, leading to “rumours”.

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson agreed that supporters deserved “respect”, but that they also wanted what was “best for the team”, which was to “focus” on the game against Nigeria with the players that were available for selection.

“We’ve been as open as we can be to say it’s calf injury that’s going to be reassessed after the Nigeria game,” Gustavsson said.

“Me personally, I don’t know more than that, as of now. I just focus on the players that I have available for (Thursday night) and I know that’s how Sam wants it as well, and I’m sure that the majority of the fans out there want us to focus on the player that are available to play the game.”

Injured Matildas captain Sam Kerr (centre) talks with team staff before Wednesday’s training session. Picture: Patrick HAMILTON / AFP

However, warning of further delays about the severity of Kerr’s injury, Gustavsson said he would wait until Sunday before giving an update on the skipper’s availability.

Defender Steph Catley, who will again captain the Matildas on Thursday night in Kerr’s absence, said injuries Kerr, and Mary Fowler and Aivi Luik, who were both concussed at training on Tuesday, was the “last thing” the Matildas wanted.

“In particular, this tournament has been very exciting and a big moment for all of us as Australian player's probably the biggest moment of our careers, so it’s the last thing that you want to see your teammates and friends going through,” Catley said.

“But in saying that it’s football, and it happens to every single footballer on the entire planet. We’re not the first team that’s had injuries in major tournaments, and we won’t be the last, so it’s just how we gather, it’s how the rest of the squad bounces back and performs in a high pressure situation in the biggest games.

“That’s something over the last few years we’ve really developed, We’ve got a squad that is capable of winning games at any given point no matter who’s in what position, so I back every single player that’s out there no matter what, and hopefully the girls get healthy and ready to get back into the squad very quickly.”

Gustavsson said he hadn’t spoken to his squad about any extra importance to seal qualification to the tournament’s knockout stage with a win over Nigeria to perhaps ease pressure on needing to use players against who weren’t fully fit.

“We haven’t brought it up as a topic … but I know these players as well with how experienced they are and how mentally strong they are,” he said.

“They do the maths, but also they know how to approach a good performance. Take one moment at a time, stick to the game plan, trust the game plan, trust each other … and then follow that.

“Focus on performance first, and the result will take care of itself.”