Australia captain Sam Kerr has been ruled out of their first two Women’s World Cup games with a calf injury sustained in training.

The 29-year-old, Australia’s all-time record scorer, will also be absent against Nigeria on 27 July.

Kerr will now hope to be fit for Australia’s final match in Group B, against Canada on 31 July.

The Chelsea forward posted 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 which starts now.”

A statement posted to the Australia team’s Twitter account read: “Sam Kerr is unavailable tonight after she picked up a calf injury at training on matchday minus-one.

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

Arsenal defender Steph Catley stepped in as Australia captain to replace Kerr for the match – and scored the only goal as the co-hosts earned a scrappy 1-0 victory over the Republic.

It was the second matchof the 2023 Women’s World Cup, after co-hosts New Zealand had beaten Norway 1-0 earlier on Thursday.

Kerr had shown little sign of injury worry when she spoke at a pre-match press conference – following their final training session before the Republic match – on Wednesday evening at Stadium Australia.

Manager Tony Gustavsson revealed after the game that he, Kerr and the rest of the team knew she was likely to miss the opening game, having pulled out of training in the warm-up, but that they had not known the extent of the problem until afterwards.

“I hope you respect why I sat here yesterday and didn’t say anything about that,” Gustavsson said of Kerr’s injury. “We weren’t sure of what it was, we were waiting for a result of the scan – we had a meeting with the medical team late last night when we found out what it was.

“Sam was a massive part of the Irish plan, so we didn’t want to give them a heads up well in advance. We didn’t want to play any mind games with the teamsheet, but we wanted to wait until the last minute.

“It’s obviously difficult for Sam and the players, but the way they responded in training – she had to step out of the warm-up – was great. I want to respect Sam and the team at this point, but she gathered the team and said: ‘This is not about me tomorrow; it is about you.’ She wanted the players’ full focus on the game. That’s why she’s captain of the team.

“She means a lot to the team emotionally and spiritually, but I want to respect the team right now, and speak about the team performance. She will be out the team for two games and then we will reassess.”

Kerr was present at Stadium Australia to support her team-mates as the co-hosts began their bid to win the Women’s World Cup for the first time.

With 63 goals in 120 matches, Kerr has long been the key figure for Australia while being immensely successful at club level, winning three successive domestic doubles with Chelsea.