Canada's Buchanan 'getting better,' Sinclair OK after injury
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It appears Canada will be at full strength for their crucial matchup with Australia on Monday morning.
Head coach Bev Priestman said Friday that both Kadeisha Buchanan, who's been dealing with an illness, and Christine Sinclair, who was picked up an injury in the team's 2-1 win over Ireland, are expected to be available.
Buchanan missed Tuesday's training session ahead of Wednesday's match against Ireland and played the first half before being removed.
"She's getting better and better," Priestman told TSN's Claire Hanna. "I think time is on our side for this one compared to the last game. It didn't help that she then got a ball in the stomach in the game and she got through to halftime but you could see she was absolutely wiped. I think the rest, the recovery, the day off is only going to help that, so she should be fine."
Sinclair, who had previously started all 22 of her previous World Cup appearances, began Wednesday's game as a substitute before entering at halftime. She completed the 45 minutes, but was assessed afterwards for an injury.
"I don't think it's anything that's going to cost the tournament or anything like that," Priestman said of the world's all-time leading scorer with 190 goals. "Obviously we haven't trained yet, we've got a training session tomorrow, matchday minus-two, and we always assess how players come out of a game in that and everyone's on their own sort of plan. Tomorrow will have to be light because of the travel and everything we've had. But, I think Christine should be fine."
Sitting tied atop Group B with Nigeria at four points, Canada will need a draw or better to ensure their place in the Round of 16 in Monday's game against the co-hosts.