The Matildas forward only managed to get game time with her W-League side, Melbourne City, in one match post-Christmas and was waived by her club in the NWSL – Seattle Reign.

Meanwhile, Crummer finds herself adjusting to the time difference and cold in Portugal as the Matildas prepare for the Algarve Cup.

 

Caught the giggles 🤭

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In between sessions she spoke to The Women’s Game about the important year ahead for the squad, especially with World Cup qualification on the line.

“This is obviously getting us prepared for Asian Cup – we’ve got a few things that we need to work on and this is the tournament where we can do that.”

Crummer concedes her lack of matches in W-League could have contributed to her being waived by Seattle, but is pragmatic about options.

“It was disappointing to hear but I guess in a way I’ve got to move on and keep playing,” she said.

“I spoke to the club beforehand, it wasn’t a shock [when it was made public].

“Not too sure what the next plan for me is, but we’ll figure it out when I get there.”

At some point, this lack of game time also had Crummer wondering if it would impact her Matildas spot.

The 22-year-old only played eight games with City this season despite the 14 games on offer, which included a semi-final and grand final appearances by City.

“Yeah, it did cross my mind, I was trying to do everything I can,” she said.

“We have GPS at training, so I was always making sure I was at a good load and doing top ups when needed so that I could make sure to be fit and ready when I came into camp.”

In some ways, injury layoff is a good preparation for players who might fall off the team sheet for other reasons, and Crummer has learnt to take it all in her stride.

In 2016, she ruled herself out of Olympic qualifiers due to a knee injury before an ankle injury kept Crummer out of the first half the of 2016-17 W-League season.

After earning her first start, Crummer suffered a fractured foot.

 

Today is the 100th consecutive day Iv had this moon boot on 🙄 #getitoffme

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“It’s quite tough, obviously when I was injured I just wanted to be out there with the girls.

“You’re still in a way a part of the team and you’ve still got to be there no matter what which is what I definitely tried to do when I wasn’t playing.

"I was always making sure I was there supporting the girls.

“I’ve never had an injury like that put me out for so long.

"I had heaps of support from the girls and they all knew what I was going through and I was still making sure I was happy and smiling and always at training.”

The Matildas will meet with regular AFC opponents China, the third time at an Algarve Cup, in their last group match and Crummer is eager to add to the minutes she played against them in November.

“…we’re excited to play them again – we’ve played them a few times so we sort of know what they’re all about, so hopefully we can just keep scoring and winning games,” she said.