It was a huge blow for the Matildas when they learnt that the Chelsea forward will miss the opener against Ireland on Thursday and their second group game against Nigeria after picking up a calf problem during training.
Although the co-hosts beat Ireland, they went on to suffer a shock 3-2 loss to Nigeria which makes their tie against Canada a must-win match if they are to qualify for the knockouts without depending on other results.
“We won’t get confirmation (on her fitness) until the night before the game. It might even be where we need to test her to see if she can play on game day. That’s how tight it is. She’s going to do anything she can to be out there. I know that she’ll want to be out there and she deserves to be out there,” the coach informed.
“If she’s available we’re going to need to come up with a plan together to see what we can do to maximise the potential minutes she has – if she’s available,” added Gustavsson.
