Women's World Cup: Matildas star Sam Kerr's calf likely healed but expert gives warning

All attention has turned to Monday night, where Kerr may be called upon for the Matildas' elimination clash with Denmark.

The team are yet to unleash their skipper in the tournament due to the mysterious left calf injury she suffered a day before kick-off in their opening match on July 20.

Thankfully it's yet to cost the Matildas, as they progressed to the round of 16 without her playing a single minute.

Still, with the path to the final expected to be tougher, they could certainly use their back-flipping, goal-scoring superstar now.

Kerr declared herself fit to play if needed in the Matildas' last match against Canada, though the 4-0 win allowed coach Tony Gustavsson to keep her benched to fight another day.

The Matildas remain confident Kerr will be healthy for their do-or-die match against the Danes, and a calf injury expert from La Trobe University agrees the signs are positive.

"By the Denmark game she'll be about 19 days post-injury, so if we're assuming it's a mild strain, given she looks like she's available and been training, then that's probably enough time," associate professor and physiotherapist Tania Pizarri told The Canberra Times.

Pizarri conducts extensive research on calf muscle strains, and is also a coordinator of the AFL's soft tissue registry, which collects data on every quad, calf and hamstring injury that occurs.

Pizarri said there are many variables when it comes to calf injuries, but because Kerr was cleared by medical staff to play against Canada, and now Denmark, it can be assumed it was only a "minor" calf injury, and that it's unlikely she's still suffering any pain.

"There's two major muscles in the calf that get injured - the gastrocnemius and the soleus," the professor explained.

"A gastrocnemius injury is usually a much shorter return-to-play time than a soleus injury, but the latter is much more common in soccer.

"Then within the soleus there's little tendons and if it impacts on those, it can be a longer injury duration.

"The mean return-to-play in AFL is around 24 days for calf injuries, but for a gastrocnemius issue you might expect 18 days would be enough, then if it is a severe calf injury, it could be 50 to 60 days."

The bigger concerns Pizarri warned about was the risk of re-injury if Kerr has had a history of calf complaints, and she also questioned whether the forward can come back to the Matildas with the same strikepower - a common hurdle for players returning from injury.

"If Sam has had calf soreness or injuries in the past, then she's at a much greater risk for that to occur again," Pizarri said.

"But if Sam gets through a few games, the risk of re-injury reduces over time.

"The other issues sometimes is when people get back to playing, but they don't necessarily get back to performance straight away because of concern of re-injury."

The Matildas will have a closed training session on Sunday morning, with the media invited to record vision for just the first 15 minutes.

A Sunday afternoon press conference with Gustavsson and Caitlin Foord is likely to see Kerr's calf a hot topic once more before the final team is named an hour before kick-off on Monday in Sydney.

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