Australia captain Sam Kerr has been ruled out of their first two Women’s World Cup matches after getting injured in training, the team announced on Thursday, shortly before their tournament opener against Ireland.

“Sam Kerr is unavailable tonight after she picked up a calf injury at training on MD-1 (a day before matchday)” the team said on Twitter.

“Sam will be unavailable for the next two matches with the Matildas Medical Team to re-assess her following our second group stage match.”

She was named on the bench in Australia’s squad for the game against Ireland, which will be played later on Thursday in Sydney. She will also miss next Thursday’s game against Nigeria.

Kerr, in a post on Instagram, said: “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 part of this amazing journey which starts now.”

Kerr’s absence will be a big blow to the Matildas, who are touted among the title contenders at the World Cup, which will run from July 20 to August 20.

The Matildas are in Group B with World Cup debutants Ireland, Olympic champions Canada as well as Nigeria. Their best finish so far has been the quarter-finals, which they reached on three occasions, in 2011, 2015 and 2019.