Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw says there's "really good hopes" Denise O'Sullivan will be fit enough to face Australia in Thursday's mammoth World Cup group opener.
O'Sullivan sustained a painful shin injury during last Friday's controversial behind-closed-doors game against Colombia, which was abandoned after 20 minutes.
The Cork midfielder had been in a protective boot but that's been removed and she returned to some very light training at Meakin Park in Brisbane on Monday.
Pauw said O'Sullivan remains in a race against time to make it, but her recovery is going smoothly and there are genuine hopes she'll line up at the Accor Stadium in Sydney in three days' time.
"We had the boot on to calm things down, that is the key thing," said Pauw.
"It is not because she cannot walk but to calm it down. We will see this afternoon her stability and then we will see if she can run.
"We don’t know [if Thursday will come too soon]. I would tell you but we don’t know."
When asked what Ireland's medical team had said about O'Sullivan's chances, Pauw replied: "That there is really good hopes and Denise herself says there is really good hopes.
"It is going according to what we hoped would happen, so it is the same [as on Saturday].
"Denise is fit, she is extremely fit, that helps. From there, we see what step is next and what step is next, but it is about, can she handle it? Then we build up to the match."
It's been a rollercoaster week for the Irish players Down Under.
Having enjoyed a relaxed open training session last Wednesday, they became engulfed in a big fallout with Colombia.
Pauw said the players "feared for their bodies" when explaining the decision to walk off the field. On Sunday, media outlet AS Colombia released footage of the tackle on O'Sullivan.
Taken in isolation, it looks like a bad challenge but perhaps not one that merited a walk-off. However Pauw has stressed that it was one of a number of incidents that led her to making the call.
"We know that it was the total atmosphere and this was not the only incident. That is what we know. And the tackle is over the ball and on the ankle, the ball was away and it was on the ankle.
"Not even a hand lower, she would have been out of the World Cup, for sure. And it was deliberate.
"It was the whole atmosphere... it built up and up."
The clip of the O'Sullivan flashpoint has been viewed millions of times on social media but Pauw is keen to put the saga to bed.
"To be honest, at this moment, it does not bother me because I have switched off my social media and haven't looked - for obvious reasons. I need to be here for the team. Completely.
"We are just busy with Australia, at this moment and we are just focusing and focusing and focusing on them, that is all we are doing at this moment.
"We have dealt with it very professionally, I am proud of that still, the way we dealt with it. I am proud of myself, that we protected the players, that I had the guts to protect the players."
Watch Republic of Ireland v Australia in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Thursday at 11am, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live commentary on 2fm
