Matildas coach drops huge Mary Fowler news as Aussies cop brutal Asian Cup draw
But the Aussies were given a major boost by the news that Fowler is on track to make her return, despite suffering a ruptured ACL in her right knee only three months ago. The injury - which typically requires a 12-month recovery time - looked set to rule the superstar out of the Asian Cup after she went down while playing for Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals in April.
However, the Matildas coach revealed the 22-year-old was already back up and running and looks set to feature in the early part of the new WSL season in England. It could give Fowler up to four months of football to regain her form and fitness ahead of the Asian Cup, which kicks off for the Matildas at Perth's Optus Stadium on March 1.
'I spoke to her the other day, and she's on track,' Montemurro said after Tuesday night's draw. 'She's in Sydney at the moment doing some running. So she'll join City, I think, in early October ... she's looking good and she should be hopefully back playing before November.
"She's been really, really, really, really positive and done well. She's a special player - not just for Australia, but worldwide. She's [got] that X factor. And you need those X-factors in these tournaments. You need that player to unlock something at times. To have Mary involved will be really good.'
The Matildas look set to be given a double boost, with star skipper Sam Kerr also working her way back to full fitness in pre-season training with Chelsea after a much more complicated ACL injury of her own. Kerr hasn't played a competitive game since late 2023, but was hoping to feature for Chelsea towards the back end of last season.
'It was important that she didn't jump straight into pre-season,' Montemurro said about Kerr. 'Hopefully by the end of pre-season, she'll be at the level with everyone else - and then she's up for game time.'
Matildas cop brutal draw for home Asian Cup
Montemurro said he was pleased with Australia's draw, despite it being close to the most difficult group they could have landed at Tuesday night's ceremony at Sydney Town Hall. The Matildas face the Philippines in Perth, before taking on Iran on the Gold Coast on March 5. They then face a tricky final group game against powerhouse South Korea in on March 8, in a rematch against the side that knocked them out of the last Asian Cup campaign.
The Matildas at least avoided a group stage meeting with defending champions China, who were drawn in Group B. While the highest-ranked team in the tournament - World No.7 Japan - were drawn in Group C with Vietnam, India and Taiwan.
"In any tournament, the expectations were what they were," Montemurro said. "I couldn't predict that I wanted this team or that team. Now it's a little bit clearer, the style of teams we're playing, and it's a little bit clearer on how we approach the build-up into it."
The World No.15 Matildas have just two international windows to find their feet under the new coach before the tournament starts. Australia netted two wins, a draw and a loss against Slovenia and Panama in their first batch of friendlies under former Lyon coach, Montemurro.
Australia are one of 12 teams split across three groups to have qualified for next year's tournament, which will run until the final at Sydney's Accor Stadium on March 21. The top two teams in each of the groups will be joined by the two best third-placed sides in the knockout phase of the tournament.
Draw for the 2026 Women's Asian Cup
Group A - Australia, South Korea, Iran, Philippines
Group B - North Korea, China, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan
Group C - Japan, Vietnam, India, Taiwan
with AAP
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