Sam Kerr poised to return after 20-month absence, father says

Sam Kerr looks set to resume competitive action after a 20-month absence from the field, her father said, with the Chelsea striker and Matildas captain named among the substitutes for the club’s recent Women’s Super League win.

Kerr, 32, has not played since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament tear during a pre-season training camp with Chelsea. She underwent a second procedure last year to remove scar tissue and has since progressed through rehabilitation; she was an unused substitute in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City last week and is in contention to feature in Chelsea’s next match against Aston Villa.

"To be truthful, you'd say a knee reconstruction is 12 months and when it starts to get a bit longer you start worrying," Roger Kerr said Thursday. "But she got it sorted out and got a bit of scar tissue cut away and back to full strength now." He said the timing of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, to be held in Australia in March 2026, should allow Kerr time to regain match fitness and confidence.

Kerr missed the 2024 Paris Olympics because of the knee injury. The Matildas will open the Asian Cup at Optus Stadium in Perth on March 1 against the Philippines. A 17-metre mural in Perth, featuring Kerr and other Australian women’s players, was unveiled this week to mark the official release of tournament tickets; the artwork was created by Jade Dolman in collaboration with Michael Betts.

Roger Kerr has been a visible presence during his daughter’s absence, attending a high-profile court hearing in which Sam Kerr was found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer, and travelling with her to Perth when family members were affected by a separate incident. In December last year, Kerr’s grandmother, Coral, was seriously injured after being struck by a ute and later died; the family held a funeral this week.

Chelsea manager and club officials have not provided a firm return date, but being named on a matchday bench is a customary step in the final stages of rehabilitation. Roger Kerr said he expected his daughter to have played “half the season” for Chelsea before the Asian Cup, a timeline he believes will restore her readiness to represent Australia.

Former Matildas captain Pat O’Connor, who led Australia at the first Women’s Asian Cup in 1975, welcomed the sport’s growth and the prospect of Kerr’s return. "The Matildas of today, to see all these young girls with their placards of their favourite players really barracking like crazy, you think to yourself, 'well, all the hard work that we did and lots of other people did, it's worth it,'" O’Connor said.

Kerr remains one of the most prominent figures in women’s football globally, and her availability for club and country will be closely watched by fans and coaches. With roughly six months until the tournament opener, medical staff and coaching teams will continue to manage her minutes and monitor match readiness as Chelsea and the Matildas prepare for key fixtures in the lead-up to the Asian Cup.