- Matildas will be back in action next month in Australia
- Striker Sam Kerr will not take any part in the matches
Australian football fans hoping to see Matildas superstar Sam Kerr return to action on home soil will have to wait a little longer, as the striker has still not fully recovered from her knee injury.
Kerr, who has been sidelined for over a year after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament during a Chelsea training session, has had a long layoff for both club and country.
The 31-year-old was named in Chelsea’s 25-woman squad for the Champions League quarter-finals earlier this month, but did not appear in the match.
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said Kerr will not play in the second leg or the club’s two league games before the international break.
‘We will go week by week and maybe after the international break we will have a better idea when she will be with us,’ Bompastor said.
As Kerr hasn’t been declared fit by her club, it could be months before she wears the green and gold again.
It might be months before Sam Kerr plays again for the Matildas, with the star striker not ruled fit by her club Chelsea
Kerr’s setback comes after she was found not guilty of racially harrassing a police officer
Despite her long-term injury, Kerr remains a key figure for Chelsea.
She has scored 95 goals in 122 appearances for the club, helping them to five Women’s Super League titles.
Earlier this month, Bompastor stressed the importance of easing her back into the team, saying, ‘I just want to make it clear I think it is not really fair to expect from a player who has been injured for now 15 months to be the hero in the team.
‘I think we have the squad to be able to be successful for the end of the season.’
Kerr’s return to the spotlight comes after she was recently found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment of a UK police officer.
The Matildas star maintained that she had never intended to insult or harm anyone with her words.
‘Following today’s not guilty verdict, I can finally put this challenging period behind me,’ she said in a statement after the court case.
‘While I apologise for expressing myself poorly on what was a traumatic evening, I have always maintained that I did not intend to insult or harm anyone, and I am thankful that the jury unanimously agreed.’
It will be a big year for Kerr, who is set to marry fiancee Kristie Mewis while the couple are also expecting their first child
She also expressed gratitude to her supporters, saying, ‘I would like to thank my partner Kristie, my family, friends, and all the fans for their love and support, especially those who attended court each day.’
Off the field, Kerr and her fiancée Kristie Mewis are preparing for a major life change.
The couple announced in November that they are expecting a baby later this year. During her trial, Kerr revealed they are expecting a baby boy and had planned to get married in December.
