Veteran striker Kyah Simon will get the chance to make a late and once unlikely run at the Women's World Cup on home soil after being named in the Matildas' provisional extended squad.
Simon appeared almost certain to miss a second consecutive World Cup through injury after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament when playing for Tottenham in October and failing to play a competitive game since.
The striker, who turns 32 later this month, will join the likes of Alanna Kennedy, Chloe Logarzo, Tameka Yallop and Emily Gielnik in a race against time to prove their fitness before the squad is cut down from 29 to 23.
Mary Fowler's season was prematurely ended by small stress fractures in her back.
Emily van Egmond returned from a back injury in the NWSL this week while goalkeeper Teagan Micah recently returned to action in Sweden after a horror run with concussions.
The somewhat surprise omission is Melbourne City starlet Holly McNamara, who made an impressive comeback from her own ACL tear late in the A-League Women season.
Defender Matilda McNamara (no relation) was also left out.
The provisional squad will have a closed training camp on the Gold Coast before heading to Melbourne for final preparations ahead of the final squad announcement and the July 14 friendly against France.
They will then be based in Brisbane for the early stages of the World Cup.
Simon was left out of the 2019 squad by then-coach Ante Milicic after injury ruined her lead-in to the tournament.
She attended the 2011 and 2015 tournaments, scoring the winner against Brazil in the latter to send Australia into the quarter-finals, their best finish yet at a World Cup.
Kennedy has been plagued by injuries since joining Manchester City.
The central defender only made seven appearances this season for City and hasn't played for the Matildas since facing Canada in September.
Logarzo hasn't played a club game since January after recovering from a knee reconstruction, only to battle plantar fasciitis.
Former Aston Villa forward Gielnik's season ended in March due to an ankle injury while Yallop (ankle) last played in April, when she got injured on Matildas duties.
"From the first day of our first training session in 2021, we said it would take 23 in 23 for the FIFA Women’s World Cup and everyone would have a role to play in that journey," coach Tony Gustavsson said in a statement.
"What we have seen is that it has actually taken more than 23 players to bring us to this moment and for that reason I am thrilled to work with the players named in this provisional squad during the final phase of our preparation.
"I have been impressed by their full commitment at every step, and now we have the chance to fine tune and solidify our gameplan ahead of a phenomenally exciting couple of weeks."
Clare Polkinghorne and Lydia Williams are on track to reach their fifth World Cups while 10 members of the squad have never been selected for one.
Australia play Ireland on July 20, Nigeria on July 27 and Canada on July 31.
MATILDAS' PRELIMINARY WOMEN'S WORLD CUP SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Mackenzie Arnold, Teagan Micah, Jada Whyman, Lydia Williams
Defenders: Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley, Charlotte Grant, Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy, Aivi Luik, Courtney Nevin, Clare Polkinghorne
Midfielders: Alex Chidiac, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Katrina Gorry, Chloe Logarzo, Amy Sayer, Emily van Egmond, Clare Wheeler, Tameka Yallop
Forwards: Larissa Crummer, Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Emily Gielnik, Sam Kerr, Hayley Raso, Remy Siemsen, Kyah Simon, Cortnee Vine.
