Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Matildas megastars Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler have been backed to bounce back to form after returning from ACL injuries and take next month’s Women’s Asian Cup by storm.
National team coach Joe Montemurro — who unveiled a 26-player squad on Wednesday — praised Fowler’s maturity and declared the talismanic attacker fit to play, despite being limited to just 15 minutes of game time in the lead-up to next Sunday’s opening match against the Philippines at Optus Stadium.
Fowler and WA superstar Kerr are joined by familiar faces in Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Ellie Carpenter, Mackenzie Arnold, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Hayley Raso and Katrina Gorry among others.
Fowler has played just once since tearing her ACL last April, restricted to a cameo off the bench in Manchester City’s 5-1 thumping of Chelsea on February 1.
But while Fowler has not played since, Montemurro said he had been in constant contact with Fowler and City and was adequately satisfied her fitness would not pose a problem in-tournament.
“It was important we managed with Manchester City her return and it was actually a really, really structured and an important return,” he said.
“We actually probably had her fit at about nine months returning, but she was great and said she’d like a little bit more time coming back.
“She’s been training with the squad now for a couple of months and playing some minutes, and she’s ready to go, and she’s in good shape.
“It was an organised, load management (decision), giving her the minutes that they believe is right for now, and all the reports I’m getting out of City is ‘we’re preparing her for the Asian Cup’. They’ve been great.”
While Montemurro said they had opted to not carry players into the tournament nursing knocks — like Tottenham full-back Charli Grant, who has not played since November due to a knee issue — he was confident in Fowler’s ability to contribute.
He did not put any minutes restrictions on Fowler, but said the 23 year-old’s maturity in her approach to her injury return spoke volumes.
“Her mindset has been really mature, 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.
“She’s been brilliant, she’s done everything in a professional manner, in a mature manner, and even to say to the staff ‘look, I just want a little bit more time, I want to get it right,’ shows a lot of maturity.”
Kerr returned from her own, lengthier knee setback in September and while she has scored nine goals in 22 games this season, she has found the net just twice in 14 Women’s Super League appearances.
For the most part, Kerr has been restricted to a bench role in the league for Chelsea, but after her 2023 Women’s World Cup was impacted by a calf injury, Montemurro said his conversations with his skipper left him enthused.
“There’s something in Sam’s voice, just speaking to her on Zoom calls and so on, that just excites me about the fact that she’s really excited to come here,” he said.
“She’s really excited to to put that jersey on, and really excited to give the public a real showcase of how we’re going to play. There’s a buzz in the air when you speak to her and it’s really exciting.”
Provided Australia reach the final, they will play six games in 21 days across Perth, Gold Coast and Sydney and Montemurro said they would rotate where possible and his staff were prepared for a multitude of scenarios.
“The biggest thing for me was to find good balance in the squad, good balance that each scenario is adhered to, meaning that if we get a situation where we lose a player early, or we go a goal down, we’ve got the opportunity to make those impacts,” he said.
“There will be a little bit of rotation that we’re going to have to do — just the nature of the turnover of games. No one’s coming in as squad depth.
“There will be situations where players will get minimal minutes, but we know they’re going to be important, even from from a training stimulus, and also from from a group stimulus.”
