The Sam Kerr quandary as Matildas eye World Cup history

In the global superstar's absence, the Matildas' attack has still been firing.

The silken-skilled Mary Fowler and ever reliable Emily van Egmond have quickly forged an undeniable synergy in the front-two pairing, producing pinpoint deliveries into the channels for speedy wingers Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso or back-to-goal passes on platters for scoring opportunities in the box.

Both have also shown their own scoring prowess and surely no opposition team has prepared to play against van Egmond in an advanced role.

In sport, you will often hear the saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it?

Well, in this extenuating circumstance, there's the return of Kerr to consider, and the chance at making history if the Matildas can beat world No.5 France in a World Cup quarter-final in Brisbane on Saturday.

A win will book Australia's first ever semi-final appearance at the tournament.

But five clearly doesn't go into four.

So, who doesn't start?

Now, I'm not suggesting a fully fit Sam Kerr should not be in the starting team, but who misses out if she does?

What a fantastic headache to have.

The other attacking four have been in sublime form against Canada and Denmark, and, Australia's all-time leading scorer is clearly not fully fit.

I'm no medical expert, but surely a 15-minute cameo on Monday night - a mostly impressive one at that - on the comeback trail from a calf injury is not usually followed by a 90-minute performance, or close to it, five days later.

If it's a gradual return, which is more likely, then maybe 30 minutes of punch off the bench against France will be how it plays out.

The winning side will also need to back up for a Wednesday night semi-final in Sydney then the Cup decider, for the team that progresses, is four days later.

That's the potential for a lot of high-intensity match minutes in a short amount of time and all players, not just Kerr, will need to be managed should the Matildas progress.

Can anyone believe we're even discussing this?

But here we are, four games into a home World Cup and we have only seen a mere glimpse of the face of the tournament.

We have, however, heard plenty about her injured calf complaint and it was plain to see how relieved and delighted everyone - 75,784 screaming spectators at Stadium Australia, teammates and Kerr herself - was when the 29-year-old took the pitch around the 80^th minute against Denmark on Monday night.

And, while it's uncertain what role she will play against the world No.5 side in Brisbane, you can guarantee the noise will again be deafening when she does step onto the field.