Sam Kerr, who was found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment of a white police officer on Tuesday, is expected to be back on the pitch within the next month.
The Guardian understands the 31-year-old Australia captain is close to making her return for Chelsea for the first time since rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament during Chelsea’s warm weather training camp in January 2024, though it is expected that will not come before the international break at the end of this month.
Kerr, who was the flag bearer for her country at the coronation of King Charles, has not played for Chelsea since December 2023, when she scored in a 3-1 defeat of Häcken in the Champions League. The forward averaged 29 goals in the two seasons prior to her injury under then-manager Emma Hayes and is a two-time WSL golden boot winner.
Kerr was back in individual training at the start of January during Chelsea’s warm-weather training camp in Portugal and is expected to make her return to non-contact training with the team soon.
Chelsea are competing on all four fronts this season. They set up a League Cup final tie with Manchester City, reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and FA Cup and are seven points clear at the top of the WSL table.
Kerr has had a difficult four months. The Australian suffered a swathe of homophobic abuse in November after the announcement that her and partner, Kristie Mewis, are expecting their first baby together.
Shortly after, the news broke that a vehicle hit her 90-year-old grandmother, leaving her in a critical condition, while the player was in New South Wales for the wedding of international teammate Emily van Egmond and Kat Thompson.
After Kerr’s court case at Kingston crown court, the player said she was now “fully focused on getting back on to the pitch” and looking forward to an exciting year.
“Following today’s not guilty verdict, I can finally put this challenging period behind me,” she said. “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.”
