Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold has confirmed she won’t play in two upcoming home matches against Argentina due to a foot injury.
Arnold, 31, posted photos of herself in the boot and crutches on her Snapchat stories before telling fans she won’t feature in the fixtures to be played in Melbourne and Canberra on May 30 and June 2 respectively.
Daily Mail Australia understands the shot-stopper injured her foot when playing for Portland Thorns FC in the US.
The setback for Arnold follows Matildas teammate Mary Fowler recently rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) when turning out for Manchester City in the FA Cup.
Fowler, 23, now faces at least nine months on the sidelines.
It comes as respected physiotherapist Brien Seeney, who discusses various sporting injuries on his NRL Physio Instagram and X accounts, recently raised questions about another ailment Fowler was carrying before her disastrous setback.
Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold has confirmed she won’t play in the upcoming home matches against Argentina due to a foot injury (pictured)
Daily Mail Australia understands the shot-stopper injured her foot when playing for Portland Thorns FC in the US
The setback for Arnold comes as Matildas teammate Mary Fowler recently ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) when playing for Manchester City in the FA Cup (pictured)
‘Horrible to see an ACL rupture now confirmed for Mary Fowler – interesting to read that she had a significant playing & travel load leading up to the injury as well as dealing with a right hamstring issue,’ he wrote on X.
That was backed up by photos of Fowler training with the Matildas in Sydney ahead of their first friendly against South Korea on April 4, where she was seen with her right hamstring taped up.
The muscle was also strapped when she blew out her ACL.
And in January of 2024, skipper Sam Kerr also injured her ACL when on a training camp with Chelsea in Morocco – and is yet to play a competitive fixture since.
In better news for the embattled Matildas, Joe Montemurro’s appointment as their new coach is expected to be confirmed by the end of the month, with the Melbourne-born mentor set to cut ties with French club Lyon.
Montemurro previously enjoyed successful spells in charge of Arsenal and Juventus – where he led them to national titles in England and Italy respectively.
He also signed Matildas star Caitlin Foord while in charge of the Gunners.
Foord’s Arsenal teammate Steph Catley recently said the Matildas players felt ‘in limbo’ as they waited for Football Australia to fill the vacant position nine months after Tony Gustavsson’s departure.
The Matildas are currently ranked 16th in the world.
