Tony Gustavsson has declared his captain Steph Catley ready to start the Matildas’ Olympics opener against Germany, adding Caitlin Foord is “available as of now” but still needs medical sign-off over the coming hours.
Catley revealed on Wednesday night France time that the mystery “lower leg injury” that sidelined her for the warm-up loss to Canada 12 days ago was a calf niggle – a throwback to the calf strain sustained by Sam Kerr on the eve of last year’s Women’s World Cup.
“I’m good to go,” Catley said after Australia’s final training session in Marseille before their first group game against Germany on Thursday night (Friday morning 3am AEST).
“It was just a little calf niggle. Nothing bad at all, but I’ve had a little history with my calves so it was just being careful and taking my time, making sure I got it right. Because any hiccups this close to …