Next 48 hours crucial for Denise O’Sullivan’s World Cup dream after horror tackle by Colombian player

There was some semblance of relief around the Ireland team hotel in Brisbane on Saturday morning as both X-ray and CT-scan on Denise O’Sullivan’s shin showed no fracture despite the horror tackle on her by an unnamed Colombian player.

However, heavy bruising could still rule O’Sullivan out of her first World Cup. The 29-year-old is walking in a protective moonboot and looks unlikely to feature next Thursday against the hosts in the Group B opener at Sydney’s sold-out Stadium Australia.

“The next 48 hours are crucial for Denise,” said Ireland manager Vera Pauw.

The decision to abandon Friday’s non-capped international was made by FAI director of football Marc Canham, 23 minutes into a behind-closed-doors game at Meakin Park, the Irish training base in Slacks Creek.

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Pauw asked Canham for help after the Colombia manager Nelson Abadía failed to stop his players from making dangerous tackles. The 40-year-old, who previously worked for the English FA, phoned FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill, who supported his decision to cancel the match.

The Irish players walked off the pitch before the South Americans, and not the other way around despite what Espanyol midfielder Daniela Caracas told Colombian supporters outside the venue. Caracas is captured on video insulting the Irish team, branding them “girls” and said it was “one little foul” before adding: “Let them eat s**t.”

Fear in the players’ eyes convinced me that we had to take action

—  Vera Pauw on calling off the match against Colombia

“I feel pride,” said Pauw, “with how calmly we behaved. I saw fear in my players’ eyes. In 47 years playing football I have never experienced anything like [the tackles by Colombian players].”

Worse than the qualifier in Slovakia last year when Katie McCabe and O’Sullivan were ruthlessly targeted? “It is not comparable,” the Dutch woman replied. “Yes, far worse.”

Ruesha Littlejohn also shipped a heavy knock, which prompted Australian referee Caitlin Williams to show the first of two yellow cards.

There is a video of the game but the FAI do not intend to release it. The association are also unable to identify the Colombia player who fouled O’Sullivan. Journalists were blocked from entering the ground by the Colombian federation and Fifa security despite an open invitation from Pauw to come as guests of the FAI.

O’Sullivan’s importance to the Irish team is almost indescribable. She has 102 caps, scoring 18 goals since her debut in 2011. She dictates the tempo, transitioning the team from defence to attack. The North Carolina Courage captain is technically superior her teammates, with the exception of Katie McCabe and that’s on the Arsenal winger’s best days.

Pauw sat with reporters this morning in the Emporium hotel on Southbank to address each detail from last night’s disastrous encounter. She was bullish but openly exhausted.

“This will not disturb us from being ready for Australia. We still have hope Denise can make it.”

Here is the full interview.

Vera, what is the prognosis on Denise? “We now have hope because there is bone brusing and soft tissue [damage] but not a bone fracture. The next 48 hours are very important, to see how it settles down. We will have a better idea on Monday if she can make [the World Cup].”

Any cut or wound? “No, no.”

Just an impact injury? “Yes.”

What chance has she of recovering in time to face Australia next Thursday? “We have hopes. We cannot say it. It is not that I don’t want to say it because, again, the first 48 hours are very important in how it settles.”

In a prescient moment last Wednesday, O’Sullivan spoke about opponents ganging up to take her out of games.

Vera, we were blocked from seeing the game, so can you describe the tackles, specifically the one that injured Denise?

“The game started, actually, very lively. We started really well, snappy, fast, we created a few opportunities, we had a free kick, a header from Louise [Quinn] that was just outside the post.

“They had a very good chance, with Courtney [Brosnan] in a one-v-one situation. She did really really well.

“In that sense the game was a really good challenge. But then after a few minutes…there was a huge challenge on Ruesha [Littlejohn] with lots of emotions around that.

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“We don’t fear any physical contact, you know that. We ourselves as a team play within the rules of the game but we are a very tough team. And I want to highlight we had the least fouls of anyone in our qualifying campaign. So we always challenge within the rules.

“This was outside the rules of the game.

“It took minutes before the game restarted [after Littlejohn received medical attention] … but within two minutes, there was this challenge on Denise.

“I thought ‘this is going really wrong’. That challenge, she was in awful pain, potentially a serious injury, she was on the ground. So I stayed calm. I went to the bench of the opponent and I asked the coach [Abadía], ‘I need your help, we all want to go to the World Cup, how do we calm this down?’ And he only said, one sentence, something like ‘It’s both sides.’

“But we did not make any fouls. He was also calm but he went back and did not take responsibility.

“Their team manager, I asked her to help me calm things down, and she said it’s not intentional. She also sat down. So I got no help from them, although they were calm, the bench of Colombia was very calm. They did not instigate anything. I want to highlight that.

“Things were developing on the pitch, the players were upset. So I decided for the first time in my life to go to the medical team and Denise and they confirmed it was a very serious injury and the players, for the first time since I’m coaching them, they feared for their bodies.

“I took them away, calmed everybody down, took them to the bench and said ‘you stay here, we deal with this, of course I support you, but I’m going to discuss this with [FAI] management’ because calling off a game, you don’t do it like that.

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“Fortunately, Marc Canham had just arrived [in Australia], the football director, so we discussed it. Marc took charge, he discussed it with the FAI, and his decision was in line with what I felt and what the players felt. There was contact also with Dublin [Hill] before we went to the referee. Everything was calm, there was no shouting.”

Caracus, the Colombian midfielder, called your players “girls” and she said they walked off the pitch first.

“No, that’s not true. But the Colombian staff handled it really well. They took their players off while we were discussing what we would do, and that was in the moment that we were in discussion with the referees.

“I also compliment that they calmly left the venue, went to the bus and left.

“The statement of the Colombian FA says a thousand words, I think, and the fact that their staff did not convince us to try to play on also says that everybody understood that this would not come right.”

“I had to protect my players and the FAI protected the players as well, and it was a collective decision from the board, the management, staff and players. We were all on the same sheet.”

The Colombian football federation released a statement late on Friday night noting that Ireland “preferred not to continue” adding that their own players remain “framed within the rules of the game, healthy competition and fair play”.

Can you explain how the game went this way? “No, I don’t understand that. No.”

Experience anything like that before? “No, I’ve been involved in football since I was 13, when I could finally play, so that is 47 years. I have not experienced anything like that before.”

The Caracus “eat s**t” and “girls” comments, what is your reaction? “I’m sorry, what? To be honest, I’m a bit shocked hearing this. Let’s say that maybe they were emotional too.”

You scouted Colombia before arranging this fixture, any signs of this behaviour? “I’ve never seen that before. We’ve analysed, very profoundly, five games and we’ve not seen this once because otherwise we wouldn’t have played them.”

What now? “We played an 11-v-11 game immediately after [O’Sullivan was taken to hospital] with the ones who were playing against the ones who would have come on in the 60th minute. It was a true game. I brought them together and said ‘guys, we have to find a game rhythm now. We play as if it is a full international game’. With everything from free kicks, corner kicks. The way we had been playing, with a sharp technical approach.

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“We did this to get over that moment. But especially to not disturb our preparation for Australia. We were professional. I must compliment everybody, hugely.”

Could this galvanize the squad, steel them for the challenge ahead? “I’m Dutch. What does galvanise mean?”

Make the group stronger, tighter? “In this group every challenge makes us stronger. After we finished the game I brought them in and I told them I was so proud of them, just the way they got stuck into a full game against each other with all the challenges.

“Katie, the captain, said the same thing. We said: this will not disturb us from being ready for Australia.

“The way we were on the pitch immediately after this happened, after such a disturbing moment for everybody, the way we handled it mean that we will not feel any negative influence for the game against Australia. Other than we hope Denise will be ready. At that moment we thought that we had lost her.”

Speak about Denise O’Sullivan and how valuable she has been to this team since you became Ireland manager in 2019? “I have said it before: She is arguably the best midfielder in the world.”

If Australia comes too soon but she is available for Canada on July 26th and the third game against Nigeria is that enough of a reason to keep her with the squad? “That is a decision we will make later but we all know how important she is.”

Is Denise the only injury concern? “Yes. A few have knocks from challenges but everything is manageable.”

Will the Colombia game be uploaded to the Fifa portal? “That won’t happen because it wasn’t a full game. It wouldn’t help anyone.”

Did the referee Caitlin Williams lose control? “That’s difficult because when something like this happens who would be in control? The referee does not have any guilt.”

Will this make you reluctant to play games behind closed doors again, without the media and fans?“I don’t think it was because we played behind closed doors.”

“Pride is the key word at this moment. The way, collectively, we handled it, everyone involved, not one person had to be corrected but the fear in their eyes convinced me that we had to take action.”

How long did whole process of calling game off take? “I don’t know, Marc?”

Marc Canham: “Myself and yourself had a conversation and then we rang Jonathan straight away, so it would have been five or 10 minutes.”

Australia beat France 1-0 last night in Melbourne, have you planned how to redesign the side if Denise cannot recover in time? “Of course. We played Zambia without Denise and we won 3-2 and Germany lost 3-2 to Zambia. We have a squad who have a knowledge of their tasks and the execution of those tasks.

“We have prepared for every scenario, even losing Denise.”