"Haven't missed a beat" - Gorry back in full training as Matildas eye Paris

As the Paris Olympics draw near, Matildas midfielder Katrina Gorry says she is training fully and has quickly found her footing after returning to the national setup following ankle surgery.

After recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured syndesmosis, Katrina Gorry has said she has returned to full training and is eager to re-establish her midfield dynamic with Kyra Cooney-Cross as the Matildas chase a medal at the Paris Olympics. 

Gorry, 31, had her WSL campaign with West Ham prematurely end after suffering an injury to the ligaments in her ankle in March – the second time she had injured her syndesmosis, previously doing so in the other leg in 2019 – an ailment that also put her into a race against time to be ready for the Olympics. 

However, the metronome in the Matildas’ midfield maintained confidence that she would recover in time and had her belief validated when she was named as a part of Tony Gustavsson’s 18-player squad for the Games, which will commence on July 25 when they take on Germany in Marseille. 

Now, four months on from the injury and from Spain, where the side will stage a final pre-Paris hitout against Canada on July 14, Gorry said that the past months had been a whirlwind but now, back in the familiar confines of the national team camp, she had quickly found her footing again. 

“It's been a whirlwind couple of months, for sure,” she said. “[I was] pretty devastated about my injury but so grateful for all the support and I knew that I could trust my body to get myself back here. 

“I get to do it my beautiful family as well. I'm feeling good, the ankle is doing really well and just so happy to be back in camp.

“I'm in full training. I've been in full training for the last couple of weeks. West Ham was really supportive of me being in Sweden and doing my rehab there. So [I'm] really grateful for that. 

“I did a lot of running sessions by myself; tried to get myself fit and back in the team. And since I've been back, I've been doing full sessions. Haven't missed a beat, really. So it's been really nice to be back and under the care of the national team.”

Of course, the “whirlwind” that Gorry references stretches far beyond just the football pitch and trainer’s table. 

Her fiancee Clara Markstedt gave birth to a baby boy, Koby, in June, joining daughter Harper, who Gorry gave birth to after undergoing IVF in August 2021, and making them a family of four. 

Having a new bub is inevitably as taxing as it is rewarding but the veteran, who missed the Paris Olympics while pregnant with Harper - a pretty decent trade, in her view! - said she also gleaned a sense of inspiration from the new addition.

“Always trying to figure out how to juggle [what is] now two kids but we're doing it pretty well,” she said. 

“We're loving every minute of it. I think it just makes me want to be better. Make them more proud and [to] play as long as I can and just enjoy these moments together.

On the pitch, Gorry’s return for the Olympics will provide a significant boost to Gustavsson, whose contract ends upon the conclusion of the Matildas’ campaign. 

The 2014 Asian player of the year’s ability on the ball, her movement off it, and where she looks to receive possession all loom large in the Swedish coach’s post-Women’s World Cup efforts to improve his side’s ability to function with the majority of possession — something worked on in her absence in friendlies against Mexico and China. 

Pending fitness, she and Cooney-Cross loom as almost certain starters come the commencement of the Games, the United States and Zambia joining Germany as group stage opponents – and Gorry said she was eager to re-establish that partnership. 

“Kyra and I speak often,” she said. “I watched all the games when I wasn't a part of it and we get to dissect little things throughout it and help each other along the way. 

“It feels like I've never really left. It's been nice to be back out in the training pitch with her, just discussing things, what we can work on, and how we can be better. We have an amazing connection, so hopefully you get to see that in the next couple of weeks.”

Header Image: Football Australia.