The Australian women’s national team have suffered more injury woes as striker Mary Fowler and defender Aivi Luik have been ruled out of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Group B clash against the Super Falcons of Nigeria in Brisbane on Thursday.
Fowler was a replacement for captain and star player Sam Kerr who missed the opener against the Republic of Ireland due to a calf injury she suffered in training before the 1-0 victory in Sydney.
Fowler and Luik sustained mild concussions in separate incidents during training on Wednesday. They have however recovered and commenced Football Australia’s Graduated Return to Play protocol.
???? SQUAD UPDATE: Mary Fowler and Aivi Luik will be unavailable for Thursday night’s clash with Nigeria with both players having been ruled out after sustaining mild concussions during training. #Matildas #FIFAWWC #TilitsDone
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 26, 2023
Kerr will also remain unavailable for Australia against Nigeria and possibly even further which will be a big test for the Matilda’s attacking depth and hopes of impressing as World Cup co-hosts.
Victory for Australia against Nigeria would see them progress to the Round of 16, joining Spain and Japan who secured their passage with victories over Zambia and Costa Rica respectively on Wednesday.
The Super Falcons meanwhile need to win to keep their hopes of back-to-back knockout stage appearances alive after Canada defeated the the Republic of Ireland 2-1 in Perth on Wednesday.
WATCH AUSTRALIA VS NIGERIA LIVE ON AFROSPORT TV ACROSS NIGERIA, CHANNEL 730 ON FREE TV OR STREAM ONLINE VIA VIDIVU TV.
