Australian superstar Caitlin Foord has limped off Adelaide Oval with a hamstring complaint, creating a fresh injury headache on a night the Matildas only narrowly avoided defeat against China.
Another extraordinary crowd of 52,912 was on hand for the first of two friendlies between the nations and the majority went home relieved after Michelle Heyman equalised seconds from full-time to secure a 1-1 draw.
Trailing 1-0, Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson swung for the fences with 30 minutes remaining when regular starters Foord, Steph Catley, Ellie Carpenter, Hayley Raso and Kyra Cooney-Cross entered the game.
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They were unable to immediately turn the match in the home side’s favour and a setback followed with Foord’s cameo cut short after just 14 minutes.
The Arsenal star sat down on the turf and was clearly concerned about her right leg.
She walked off the field under her own power but any injury — even eight weeks out from the Paris Olympics — will be a blow for the shorthanded Matildas.
Sam Kerr and Amy Sayer are out of the campaign with ACL injuries while Katrina Gorry is on the comeback trail from a recent ankle operation.
In a positive sign, star defender Clare Hunt got through the full 90 minutes on Friday night in her return to the international fold.
The 25-year-old overcame a stress fracture in her foot to make the squad.
The Matildas’ struggle to escape with a draw, however, has not made Gustavsson’s job any easier as he attempts to lock in the 18 players he will take to Paris 2024.
“I have to tell someone at the end of this week ‘you’re not going to the Olympics’,” he said before the match.
“We’ve had almost four years to prepare for this … I have more knowledge coming into this selection process than previous selections, which means a core group of players are locked in for us and the coaching staff.
“I’d stay roughly 14 to 15.
“There’s a question mark on the player availability like Katrina Gorry, for example, so when we’re making a selection, we have to make it based on where we think she will be on the 25th of July, not where she’s at now.
“The other spots are up for grabs, but there’s a lot of players competing for them.”
The Matildas and China will meet again on Monday night in Sydney.