Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor confirms Sam Kerr set to return after 20-month ACL layoff

Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor confirmed Friday that striker Sam Kerr is poised to make her long-awaited return to competitive action after 20 months out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Kerr, who was an unused substitute in Chelsea’s 2-1 opening-weekend win over Manchester City, is expected to be available for Sunday’s Women’s Super League match at Aston Villa, with Bompastor saying "hopefully we'll see" the Matildas captain on the field. The manager added that Kerr has been progressing well in training and could be named among the substitutes or be considered to start.

"I think Sam is ready," Bompastor said at a news conference. "She's doing everything she can to be available for the squad, available to start a game. Again, it's a balance between what she has been doing the last weeks and also the fact that maybe she's not like 100 percent ready to start a game, but not far from that." Bompastor said the decision not to bring Kerr on against Manchester City was hers and based on the tight nature of the contest.

Kerr, who turned 32 on Wednesday, has not played since December 2023, a month before she suffered the ACL injury that sidelined her. Since joining Chelsea in January 2020 she has scored 99 goals in 128 appearances for the club. She also missed much of the campaign in which Chelsea secured a sixth consecutive WSL title.

Bompastor acknowledged the personal difficulty of the long layoff for Kerr and described the club’s efforts to support her. "Even if Sam is someone really positive and she cares about the team and she always puts the team first, it's been tough for her personally," Bompastor said. "Being away from games, winning trophies as a competitive person, it's always difficult. So the best way for us as a staff and as a club to support her was to make sure we gave her a lot of support in different ways, having different conversations with her, but also making sure she could feel our love in those more difficult moments."

Kerr has featured in pre-season and played some minutes during those fixtures as part of a cautious reintegration programme. Bompastor said the coaching staff will continue to assess Kerr’s physical readiness and manage her minutes as she returns to competitive play.

Chelsea’s forward options and recent form were factors in the decision-making process. With the WSL campaign underway and title contenders lining up early in the season, Bompastor indicated the club will balance immediate team needs with Kerr’s long-term fitness: "Now she's just happy to be back, not officially yet in the game, but around the team in training sessions. The next step for her is to be involved in an official game in the league, and hopefully we'll see that on Sunday."

If Kerr plays, her return will mark a significant milestone for Chelsea and for Australia’s national team, which has long relied on her pace and finishing. The club and player will monitor her workload closely as she resumes match action after an extended rehabilitation period.