BRISBANE -- The Matildas have returned to the training track following Thursday's 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their opening Women's World Cup match.
As expected, injured skipper Sam Kerr did not participate in the warm-up, but looked to be walking unencumbered and without strapping around her leg as she greeted fans at an official FIFA training session.
Kerr was a shock late scratching from Australia's win over Ireland with a calf strain suffered the day before and is already ruled out of Thursday night's clash against Nigeria in Brisbane.
For full-back Charli Grant, while Kerr's injury was unfortunate, she and the team know that injuries happen.
"We're just going to stay positive, and these things happen in big tournaments so we're just going to adapt," she said.
For Tameka Yallop, adapting to life without Kerr was something they had prepared for with the utility describing the rotations in training that coach Tony Gustavsson employs.
"The girls already knew what they were doing," she said. "I think it was second nature for us and the girls did really well [against Ireland].
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"Sam's just like any other player, we're a team of 23 and she supports us from the bench and we support her right back as well. So I think it's disappointing for her personally but she's also very supportive of the team."
That support from Kerr was felt before, during, and after the Ireland match and has extended through training as well, a fact Grant noted.
"You do want her to be part of the training, she gives so much energy, but that just means we need to step up and provide that energy," she said.
"She's still so positive off the field and you hear her cheering on the sidelines, like today in the small-sided game she still had such a voice and she's still such a great leader for the team."
Kerr was joined by Kyah Simon on the sidelines as the attacker continues to work her way back from an ACL injury. The only other players not participating in training were centre-back pairing Alanna Kennedy and Clare Hunt, with their loads being managed.
Hunt has been out of season since April while Kennedy played only her second game back from a torrid injury run. The duo played the full game against Ireland and had plenty of work to do in a pressure-filled final 15 minutes.
In better news for the Matildas, Yallop trained with the main group, but still had some heavy strapping around her left thigh. In the leadup to the Ireland match, the 32-year-old had trained away from the rest of the team but appears to be in contention for selection against Nigeria.
"Yeah, absolutely. I think it was only a minor injury against France so it was quite lucky for me but I'm back on the park and good to go," she said.