Matildas coach Joe Montemurro has hailed Mary Fowler for her "courageous" willingness to open up about her mental health.

Playmaker Fowler, 22, is set for a January return from her ACL tear suffered in April.

Fowler recently released her book Bloom, where she detailed struggling with her mental health, self-harming and experiencing suicidal thoughts during her time at French club Montpellier as a teenager.

"We need to applaud the fact that she's been able to face those issues … it's so courageous to talk about these things and to come up with it," Montemurro said.

"And the fact that she's been able to deal with these issues, I think, is all credit to her, it's amazing.

"I suppose it's a little bit of a sign of the pressures that professional athletes and professional sportspeople are

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