“She’s not going to be OK. She won’t play,” he said.
“She’s been a big part of our team so far ... She’s a special human so I’m sure she’ll add stuff off the field. Even though she’s only a young player herself, she’s really good at teaching the other players — all of that stuff will continue.
“We’ve got some pretty handy replacements as well.”
Flanker Sarah Hirini said she was “absolutely” gutted for Mikaele-Tu’u.
“[She’s] obviously part of the loosie gang, and I know the ‘loose canons’ will be playing for her this weekend.”
Black Ferns No 8 Liana Mikaele-Tu'u. Photo / Photosport
Co-captain Kennedy Simon, who replaced Mikaele-Tu’u at halftime against France, and experienced loose forward Charmaine McMenamin are the possible replacements at No 8.
Simon has had limited minutes this tournament after injury struggles throughout the year and only made her World Cup debut in the quarter-final against Wales, playing 29 minutes off the bench.
A start for McMenamin would also be a remarkable story after recovering from a rare spinal injury which required surgery last October.
Clarke said there were no other injury concerns in the squad, but there were plenty of sore players after a “brutal” semifinal against the French.
“There’s been a few ice baths. The French were fantastic on the day and it was a brutal game. There’s definitely some sore players out there so we took things a bit slow yesterday and maybe a bit slower today for most of the training, and then finished fast and it’s really good.”
The Black Ferns will face an England side that has won a record 30 tests in a row since 2019, including two dominant victories over New Zealand in November last year, leading to head coach Wayne Smith labelling his team the “underdogs” heading into the final.
However, Clarke said he was “100 per cent” confident that his side were up for the challenge.
“It’s going to be a challenge — we know that. But we’ve faced a few challenges already in the last 12 months. We’ve got a special group of people here and when you’ve got a special group of people, anything is possible. So we’ve got a chance.”
Clarke also said he wasn’t concerned about the pressure leading into the final.
“Our pressure is all internal,” he said. “It’s the same thing, just on the other side. We want to perform, we want to show a game that’s beautiful that people want to watch, and to attract the attention of young boys and girls to play the game in the future. So all our pressure is internal and how we want to deliver the game. If you do it well enough, the score will take care of itself. That’s where we’re at.
“I think the group is really prepared for it.”
The Black Ferns will announce the matchday 23 to face England on Thursday.
