Australian captain Sam Kerr has finally taken to the field for the first time this World Cup, coming off the bench in the 80th minute of Australia’s 2-0 win over Denmark on Monday night that booked a place in the quarterfinals.
It ends weeks of speculation over her fitness that has seen Kerr’s left calf become the most talked-about muscle in the country.
There were promising signs in her brief stint on the field, though there was a moment of high drama when she slipped on the greasy turf and tumbled to the ground with an apparent groin concern.
Kerr said afterwards: “I just slipped. I have terrible groins and just fell over like a normal thing. I think it’s just on a microscope because I’ve been injured the last three weeks. But it’s nothing.”
It had a tense coach Tony Gustavsson gesturing wildly in her direction – though he said post-game that Kerr told him she was fine…