Australia Matildas, Sam Kerr lifts lid on injury rollercoaster

“I had hurt myself but me being the stubborn person I am, I still thought I was going to play the next day [against the Republic of Ireland],” she told media on Friday.

“I feel massive relief that I’ve been able to step onto the park.

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster for me. I’ve never had a muscle injury, so I didn’t know what I was feeling and how long it was going to take [to recover].

“Once we got to the knockout stages … it was kind of just risk it all.”

Knocking on the wooden desk in front of her for good luck, Kerr praised the Matildas’ medical and support staff for getting her back to full fitness.

“So many people around Australia and so many recovery centres have helped us and helped me to be able to recover,” she said.

“At some point in the tournament, I was thinking I might never play in this World Cup, but I was lucky enough that I was able to get back.

“Now, it’s just the icing on the cake that I could step on the park and help the girls.

“Once I’m back there’s no holding me back. Of course, I would have liked a better run up but that doesn’t matter now, the games are here to be played.”

Matildas’ coach Tony Gustavsson also commended his captain for the way she had carried herself the last four weeks.

“I want to credit Sam because just think about it yourself — this has been a dream of hers for so long and then the day before the opening game of the World Cup [she suffers] an injury and you don’t know she’s going to play at all,” he said.

“It could be so devastating that you bring the whole team down because you can’t handle your own emotions. But, what Sam did in that moment to be the best teammate that I’ve ever seen [it shows] everything about Sam as a person and as a leader of this team.

“The energy she gave, the belief she gave, the support she gave, and at the same time going through the toughest moment in her career possibly.”

With the ultimate response, Kerr scored a thrilling long-range goal to level the match against the Lionesses on Wednesday.

“It’s instinct for me — most of my football career [has been played] off instinct,” she said of the goal.

“That for me was just an instinct goal and I’ll always have that no matter how fit or unfit, or how many sessions I’ve done or how many sessions I’ve not done. I’m always someone who plays off instinct.”

With the Matildas’ historic World Cup run nearing its end, Kerr said the competition has been “the most amazing four weeks of our careers”.

But there is still work to be done with the team hoping to finish the tournament with a bronze medal hanging around their necks after Saturday night’s third-place playoff against Sweden.

“We have one more game and we can really end on a high,” Kerr said.

“Third place for us would be an amazing thing and an amazing thing for this country. So, for us, there’s that extra motivation to end on a high and really leave an amazing legacy.

“Coming third place at a Women’s World Cup is something that you could only dream of as a kid.”