Kerr to miss Matildas' first two World Cup games with calf injury

Star striker Sam Kerr will miss the first two games of Australia's Women's World Cup campaign with a calf injury.

Kerr is the face of the tournament being hosted Down Under and her absence comes as a blow to the Matildas' chances of progressing on home soil.

Tony Gustavsson's side begin their campaign against the Republic of Ireland in Sydney this morning, with their captain set to miss that game and next Thursday's match against Nigeria in Brisbane.

A team statement said: "Sam Kerr is unavailable after she picked up a calf injury at training.

"Sam will be unavailable for the next two matches with the Matildas medical team to reassess her following our second group stage match."

The Chelsea forward added on Instagram: "Unfortunately, I sustained a calf injury yesterday in training.

"I wanted to share this with everyone so there is no distraction from us doing what we came here to achieve.

"Of course, I would have loved to have been out there tonight but I can't wait to be a part of this amazing journey."

Kerr is Australia's all-time leading goalscorer with 63 strikes in 120 caps.

She faces a race against time to lead her side out in their third Group B match against Canada on July 31.

At club level, Kerr has won three successive domestic doubles with Chelsea and has been named the Football Writers' Association Women's Footballer of the Year for the last two seasons.

Last October, she finished behind Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas and England forward Beth Mead in the voting for the 2022 Ballon d'Or Feminin.