Kerr trains with Matildas hours after mystery press conference no-show

Accor Stadium’s press conference room has a lot to answer for when it comes to Sam Kerr.

It is the place where, three years ago, the Matildas captain pretended she was ready to play the next day’s 2023 World Cup opener, when she had actually injured her left calf and was no chance.

And the place where, straight after that 1-0 group-stage win over Ireland, then-coach Tony Gustavsson readily admitted he had known Kerr was injured as he sat poker-faced next to her.

The trickery outraged some quarters of the public and engendered praise from others, who respectively viewed Gustavsson as either dishonest or simply a coach who knew it sometimes takes a gamble to outdo an unsuspecting opponent.

Regardless, the scars from that episode clearly remained the day before Australia’s Asian Cup final against Japan, when Kerr was pulled from the pre-match press conference she was supposed to attend with coach Joe Montemurro.

Kerr had been listed as the chosen player representative in an email alert sent out at 4.44pm on Thursday. Then, at 8.53pm, Football Australia sent out an updated alert listing Ellie Carpenter instead.

Naturally, when media arrived at Sydney Olympic Park on Friday and filed into that same press conference room, the unexplained change was one of the first queries.

“Sam’s done a lot of press,” Montemurro said. “So I think we like to share the love with all that – I think it’s even more special to have Ellie here after the great game she’s played from that perspective.

“But Sam’s fine. Everything’s fine. We’re all ready to go. And I’m so happy for her and proud of her because she’s really shown why she’s such a world-class player in this tournament. And world-class players, as I keep on saying, manage the moments in big tournaments. She’s done that.”

And that was that. Nothing to see here. Except that everyone left still wondering: was Kerr fit to play? Had she aggravated her knee? Had all those minutes, so soon after returning from such a long ACL rehabilitation, taken their toll?

Kerr arrived at training on Friday afternoon with a compression sleeve on her right knee, but appeared to be walking normally. She also completed warm-up drills with the group without trouble.

As the team prepared for more vigorous drills, a Matildas staff member taped up Kerr’s right leg in what appeared to be the same way it was during Tuesday’s semi-final against China, when she scored that head-turning winner.

The 32-year-old has been seen using the compression sleeve at other points during the tournament, as she increases her workload after two years on the sidelines.

Clare Hunt, however, was a notable absentee from training. The Tottenham centre-back was withdrawn from the match against China after an hour, in what Montemurro described as a tactical decision. Hunt, whose error had led to China’s first-half penalty, was replaced by Wini Heatley.

A Football Australia media spokesperson refused to engage with media about Hunt’s absence.