Sam Kerr is back.

The next question is whether Australia’s superstar will start against England in the Matildas’ Women’s World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

Neither Kerr nor coach Tony Gustavsson answered that burning query after the captain played 65 minutes as a substitute and converted her spot-kick in the penalty shootout that secured quarter-final victory over France on Saturday.

But it will now have to come under serious consideration.

Could Kerr have started against France on Saturday night?

“I mean, that’s like the million dollar question, right?” Kerr responded. 

“But with everything that’s been going on, the best thing for today was the plan we did and the plan we followed and when I hurt my calf, the plan was to always like, be ready for semi-final time.

“So I could have started but who knows what could have happened? The girls have been smashing it and absolutely dominating, so I think the plan went pretty well.”

Coach Tony Gustavsson added: “It was a massive decision before the game to leave her on the bench. Then it was about the timing. You want the timing right.

“I was informed that she had limited minutes today. Then we needed to put extra time into consideration. What is the risk that she pulls the calf and how many minutes does she actually have? 

“That was a massive decision to get that right. I think that we got it right and we should have scored. We had them but then when Sam came on we really had them on the hook.”

Kerr’s journey since injuring her calf on July 19, the eve of their World Cup opener, has been a roller-coaster.

Her teammates stepped up big time in her absence, allowing Kerr to recover then play a short cameo against Denmark, before facing France.

“I knew I would come back on the pitch because I would have played with one calf if I had to, but I’m just happy that I’m back on and the girls are smashing it and we’re doing well, with the country behind us here,” she said.

“I was ready to go. But we’ve had a plan this whole tournament and we just had to stick to it.”

Kerr changed the game when she came on in the 55th minute, then stood tall at the penalty shootout, wiping away memories of blasting a spot-kick into the stands against Norway in a round-of-16 loss four years ago.

With Australia trailing 2-3 in the shootout on Saturday, Kerr stepped up and converted.

“At the last World Cup, I just went away from my routine and what I did and I missed,” she said.

“So this time, it was all about just self-belief and putting it where I normally do.”