Australia’s Mary Fowler dominated out of Ladies’s World Cup conflict with Nigeria

Canberra (Australia), July 26 – Australia’s nationwide workforce has been dealt one other main damage blow on the eve of their second FIFA Ladies’s World Cup match, with rising star Mary Fowler dominated out.

Soccer Australia (FA) on Wednesday introduced that 20-year-old ahead Fowler and veteran defender Aivi Luik will miss Thursday night time’s Group B match in opposition to Nigeria after sustaining separate concussions at coaching on Tuesday.

“Fowler and Luik have each totally recovered and commenced FA’s graduated return to play protocol,” an announcement stated.

Fowler had been broadly anticipated to reprise her beginning position up entrance for Australia within the absence of captain Sam Kerr, who is continuous to get better from a calf damage suffered days earlier than the beginning of the event, a Xinhua report stated.

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It means Caitlin Foord might be the Matildas’ solely accessible striker for the second group stage match.

As a result of damage record, head coach Tony Gustavsson will seemingly have to vary the formation from the 4-4-2 he deployed in a 1-0 victory over Eire within the opening match, with midfielders Alex Chidiac and Emily van Egmond the seemingly replacements for Fowler.

Australia struggled to interrupt Eire down with out Kerr, counting on defender and stand-in captain Steph Catley to transform a 52nd-minute penalty to safe their essential win.

A victory over Nigeria in Brisbane would assure the Matildas a spot within the spherical of 16 at their dwelling World Cup.

It’s not clear if both Fowler or Luik – respectively the youngest and oldest gamers in Australia’s World Cup squad – will likely be accessible for the ultimate group stage match in opposition to Canada in Melbourne on July 31.

The 2023 Ladies’s World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20, will see the highest two groups from every of the eight teams progress to the spherical of 16.