Canberra United and Illawarra Stingrays star striker Michelle Heyman today departed Australia to join the Westfield Matildas in China as the replacement for the injured Sam Kerr.
Canberra United and Illawarra Stingrays star striker Michelle Heyman today departed Australia to join the Westfield Matildas in China as the replacement for the injured Sam Kerr.
Heyman, who was standby player at the AFC Women-s Asian Cup in 2010, jetted off today following the call up by Westfield Matildas head coach Tom Sermanni.
The young striker, who has had two strong seasons in the Westfield W-League will train for the first time with the team in China tomorrow.
“Looking at the flexibility we require in a tournament like this, Michelle was the ideal person to come into the squad,” said Sermanni.
“She brings to the squad something a bit different as she can play on the wing or up top.
“Michelle has great pace, flexibility and size which I think will really suit this tournament and comes in as a bit of a like-for-like for Sam Kerr.
“We had a day off today, with the players getting some much needed rest and tomorrow Michelle will train for the first time which is good as we are just starting to look at selection and easing into the opening games.”
Heyman earned her first cap for the Westfield Matildas against DPR Korea in March last year.
The Westfield Matildas play AFC Women-s Asian Cup runners-up DPR Korea in their opening match on September 1 at the Jinan Olympic Sports Centre.