Sam Kerr will make her long-awaited return to soccer after a 20-month absence in Chelsea’s Women’s Super League season-opener — and she will be looking to mark the occasion with a landmark 100th goal for the club.
The news that the English champions’ fans — not to mention all Matildas supporters — wanted to hear came when Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor revealed Kerr was in the squad to play Manchester City on Saturday morning (AEST) at Stamford Bridge.
“Sam Kerr is in the squad. She will be involved in the game. We don’t know yet if she will start or not, but she’s in the squad,” said the Frenchwoman.
“She’s in a good place. She’s been training well. She’s physically in a good position, also mentally.”
It will be the 31-year-old’s first match since she played in the Champions League against Swedish club Häcken just before Christmas in 2023, where, typically, she got on the scoresheet with her 99th goal in Chelsea blue.
But just a couple of weeks later, she suffered the anterior cruciate ligament injury that has sidelined her ever since, during which time she was also at the centre of a high-profile court case in which she was cleared of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer.
But now she is ready to at last resume her quest to score goal 100 for Chelsea — although the team has changed out of all recognition since she last played.
If she does take the pitch on Friday, she will probably have a Matildas teammate alongside her for the first time in the shape of Chelsea’s new signing, Ellie Carpenter, from Bompastor’s old club, Lyonnes.
The burning question remains: how has such a long period out following such a debilitating injury affected the game of one of the world’s top players?
“It’s nice because she is one of the players everyone wants to see on the pitch,” said Bompastor, who was not in charge of the club when Kerr got injured.
But the boss who led Chelsea to a sixth straight WSL title in May is happy to have her back.
“That’s nice for me, with her leadership and experience,” she said.
However, she is urging Chelsea fans, who have become so used to watching the extraordinary goalscoring feats from their old favourite, to give Kerr time to rediscover her best.
“To be fair to her, she’s been away from the pitch for a long time, so I think we still need to be patient,” she said.
“That’s normal for her not to be at her best level yet. Hopefully, soon, but that’s already a good step for her and for us for her to be in the squad.
“She played some minutes in pre-season games but we cannot expect Sam, having not played for 15 or 16 months, to be immediately ready and at her best level.
“We need to be patient, even if you and I want to have Sam back because she’s a wonderful player and we love watching her on the pitch.”
Kerr’s return also spells great news for the Matildas with the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia looming next March.
AAP
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