Matildas injury woes worsen as Aussie star is ruled out of Paris Olympics after rupturing her ACL
Amy Sayer will miss the Olympics after rupturing her ACL while playing for Swedish club side Kristianstads DFF.
Matildas midfielder Amy Sayer has been ruled out of the Paris Olympics after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament. Sayer injured her knee while playing for Swedish club side Kristianstads DFF on the weekend, with scans confirming she will be out for several months.
Sayer's injury comes as the Australian women's football team suffers somewhat of an injury crisis, with her ACL injury seeing her join superstar captain Sam Kerr and young winger Holly McNamara on the sidelines. Fellow Matildas midfielder Katrina Gorry (ankle) and defender Clare Hunt (foot stress fracture) are also racing the clock to prove their fitness before the Olympics.
And the Matildas injury woes don't stop there, with Lydia Williams (ankle), Charlie Rule (hip), Chloe Logarzo (hip), Aivi Luik (hamstring) and Emily Gielnik (calf) all expected to miss the Paris Games. Sayer, 22, has 11 caps for Australia and has been a regular feature in the Matildas side after last year's Women's World Cup.
She netted her first goal during February's Olympic qualifiers against Uzbekistan and was expected to be named in the 18-player squad for Paris. Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said he is devastated by the blow to one of the side's hardest workers.
"Since returning to the national team set-up in late 2022, Amy has been a positive addition to our team with her attitude and work ethic on and off the pitch," coach Tony Gustavsson said in a statement. "To have suffered this setback is an upsetting blow for Amy and for our Matildas family.
"As always for us, our priority will be on supporting Amy and ensuring she is provided with care and assistance as she needs to navigate this challenging time." Sayer will remain in Sweden for medical assessments before undergoing surgery and rehabilitation, with no timeline put on her return to play.
Matildas face tough task in hunt for maiden Olympic medal
The Matildas face a tough task drawn in the group of death with the USA, Germany and either Morocco or Zambia in Group B. The Australian women's side has only ever defeated the USA once in 33 meetings. In their last meeting, the Matildas lost 4-3 to the USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medal playoff.
Paris will mark the fifth Olympic Games for the Matildas having featured in 2000, 2004, 2016 and 2020 with fourth place at the Tokyo Olympics their best-ever finish. And the Matildas face a tough task if they are to record their first-ever medal finish, having to navigate an extremely strong group without a host of their stars, most notably Sam Kerr.
Emily Van Egmond not concerned about tough draw
The World Cup semi-finalists qualified for Paris after defeating Uzbekistan 13-0 on aggregate last month. And Matildas vice-captain Emily Van Egmond is not worried about Australia's tough draw, hailing the strength of women's football around the world.
"We've seen women's football is growing and the Olympics is a super competitive tournament...It's all about focusing on us with the challenge that lies ahead," she said last week after the draw. When asked about the challenges of facing Germany and the USA, Van Egmond reiterated how hard it is to qualify with the strength of the women's footballing landscape.
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"I think you saw our hard it was for the European teams to qualify with England and Sweden missing out. For us, it is just about focusing on ourselves," she added. England made the 2023 World Cup final but failed to qualify for the Olympics.
Sweden defeated Australia in the third-place playoff at the 2023 World Cup, but also failed to qualify for the Olympics. The World Cup will be staged across several venues in France including Paris, Nantes, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Etienne and Lyon.
with AAP
