‘Mary could feature from the start’: Montemurro quashes Fowler fitness doubts

Joe Montemurro has predicted Mary Fowler could be ready to play in Australia’s Asian Cup opener after categorising the Manchester City forward’s two-match absence from the Women’s Super League absence as mere “load management”.

Fowler headlines a 26-player Matildas squad for the tournament starting on Sunday week, despite having only just made her return from an ACL tear – a 15-minute cameo against Chelsea on February 1 – after almost a year sidelined for club and country, before sitting the next two fixtures out.

City coach Andree Jeglertz said the 23-year-old had “got a knock in training last week but is back again this week and available” for the weekend’s home meeting with Tottenham.

The setback had prompted questions about the feasibility of Fowler’s ambitions of recovering in time to represent Australia for the first time since April 2024, but Montemurro appeared to have no such concerns.

“I think it was an organised sort of load management, just sort of giving her the minutes that they believe is right for now,” he told media at the squad unveiling on Thursday. “And all the reports I’m getting out of City is that we’re preparing her for the Asian Cup.

“She’s been training fully, and all we’re going to do is assess each game and see which is the best line-up to tackle each game. Mary could feature from the start. Mary could come in the last 20 minutes. We’ll just assess each game as it goes.”

Montemurro had previously hinted he’d be willing to gamble on a forward of Fowler’s quality and creativity, though he had hoped she’d have at least two 90-minute shifts under her belt by now.

“Her mindset’s been really mature – really, really focused on the importance of where she’s at in her career, but more importantly how she now wants to see this next phase of her career.” he said. “And she’s been brilliant. She’s done everything in a professional manner, in a mature manner.

“Even to say to the City staff, ‘Look, I just want a little bit more time, I just want to get it right’ I think shows a lot of maturity. So she’s coming in really excited. She was really happy when I called her to announce that she was in the squad, and I’m really excited to be working with her.”

Fowler will join a host of other familiar faces in camp – including captain Sam Kerr and vice-captains Steph Catley and Ellie Carpenter – in Perth ahead of Australia’s opener against the Philippines on March 1.

Kyra Cooney-Cross has also been named, the midfielder having played her first minutes off the bench for Arsenal last weekend after spending a period in Australia to be with her severely ill mother Jess.

Experience is balanced with eight Asian Cup newcomers including Wini Heatley, Jamilla Rankin, Amy Sayer, Charlize Rule and Kahli Johnson.

Another, Jada Whyman, has beaten Chloe Lincoln to the third goalkeeper spot, named alongside first-choice competitors Mackenzie Arnold and Teagan Micah.

For Grant, however, this Asian Cup marks another missed opportunity at a major tournament.

The 24-year-old fullback had finally been set for her moment in the sun after a run of bad luck left her on the fringes for years, having played only two minutes at the 2023 World Cup and missing selection for the Paris Olympics altogether.

But Grant has still not played for Tottenham since injuring her knee last November and, despite Spurs coach Martin Ho saying she was “close” to a return, Montemurro was seemingly unwilling to roll the dice.

“We had a cut-off time to get the squad into the AFC and FIFA, so the biggest thing for me was to make sure that the nature of the tournament - it being such a short tournament and quick turnarounds - is that we had players who were consistently playing and ready to play,” he said.

“We weren’t in a position to bring players in that were sort of coming back from injury or coming back from situations where we had to modify them through the camp. We just didn’t have that opportunity. But the beauty of it, and the biggest thing for me, was to find good balance in the squad [so] that each scenario is adhered to.

“Meaning that if we get a situation where we lose a player early or go a goal down, we’ve got the opportunity to make those impacts.”

The other glaring omission is Cortnee Vine, the winger of winning penalty-kick fame who took more than a year away from the national team and recently opened up about the extent to which severe anxiety had affected her football and her life.

Vine returned to the squad in October last year for the away friendlies against Wales and England, and Montemurro had indicated at the time she was in Asian Cup contention, but the coach appears content with his wide options, led by Hayley Raso and Caitlin Foord.