Injured Sam Kerr’s return date remains a mystery, says Chelsea coach

The date when Matildas captain Sam Kerr can return to action remains unclear, her club coach says.

The West Australian has been out of action since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury during warm weather training in early January 2024.

Kerr had been included on Chelsea’s Champions League roster in the hope she would be able to play a part in their campaign, but she was never fit enough to even be named in a matchday squad prior to the English club’s exit at the hands of Barcelona on Sunday, although she did attend both legs.

However, Chelsea still have much to play for. They have three matches left in the Women’s Super League, in which they are on course for a sixth successive title being six points clear.

That campaign finishes on 10 May. Eight days later Chelsea meet Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup final.

Kerr would love to be able to feature in that having scored in three successive deciders won by Chelsea from 2021-2023, scoring five goals in total.

However, Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea’s coach, said she still had no clarity as to when she would be able to select Kerr for the first time, having joined the club ahead of this season.

“She’s working really hard,” said Bompastor. “All the performance staff are doing everything for her to play this season. “We’ll see how it goes. We know we only have a few games left now. Hopefully, yes, but it’s difficult for me to have a clear answer.”

Kerr returned to individual training in January and her recovery has now gone well beyond the usual length of time for an ACL.

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The 31-year-old has scored 99 goals in 128 matches since making her Chelsea debut in January 2020.

Australia’s next matches are 30 May and 2 June against Argentina as the Matildas build towards hosting the Women’s Asian Cup next March.

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