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- Returns to national team after overcoming ACL injury
- Star striker, 32, is keen to assume captaincy duties
- Kerr also labelled herself a ‘born natural leader’
Matildas star Sam Kerr has declared she wants the captain’s armband back – and labelled herself a ‘born natural leader.’
Kerr, 32, is poised to make her first appearance for the national team since November 2023 on Sunday morning (AEDT) when Australia tackle Wales in Cardiff.
The striker ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee in January last year while on a training camp in Morocco and only returned to the pitch for Chelsea last month.
Defender Steph Catley has been Australia’s skipper with Kerr sidelined – but that could soon change.
‘Some people are just born natural leaders, and I put myself in that (category),’ Kerr said.
‘On being the captain, of course I still feel really passionate about that. ‘I have so much more to give to this team in a leadership role.
Matildas star Sam Kerr has declared she wants the captain’s armband back – and labelled herself a ‘born natural leader’
Kerr, 32, is poised to make her first Matildas appearance since November 2023 on Sunday morning (AEDT) when Australia tackle Wales in Cardiff
Defender Steph Catley has been Australia’s skipper with Kerr sidelined – but that could soon change
‘This team (Football Australia) here will make football decisions, and I feel I’m one of the best leaders in the team.’
While Kerr was happy to speak with journalists ahead of her Matildas return, one topic was off-limits.
Reporters were told by Football Australia representatives not to ask Kerr about her high-profile court case in February.
Kerr was found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer after calling a British policeman ‘f***** stupid and white’.
It comes as Kerr is also working towards the Asian Cup on home soil next year.
‘I’ve had a long time out of football, and the Asian Cup (which starts in March) is the most important thing to me coming up, so there’s no need to rush it,’ she said.
‘When I last won it (in 2010), I was a 16-year-old kid, so I didn’t even really get to experience what it actually was like.
‘Looking back, I was living my dream without even knowing it, so it would be good to hopefully lift the trophy. It would be a dream come true.’
The Matildas clash against Wales from Cardiff City Stadium is live on Paramount + on Sunday, with kick-off at 12am AEDT.
