{"id":233906,"date":"2025-10-23T02:09:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T02:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/233906\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T02:09:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T02:09:16","slug":"sam-kerr-is-finally-back-her-return-cannot-come-soon-enough-for-matildas-matildas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/233906\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Kerr is finally back. Her return cannot come soon enough for Matildas | Matildas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Looking back at a largely forgettable Matildas victory over Taiwan in Perth almost two years ago, the smile stands out. Sam Kerr<\/a> grinned after scoring the scrappy second goal, then beamed celebrating a job well done with the bench after she was substituted.<\/p>\n

That was the last appearance for the national team of Australia\u2019s greatest goalscorer. Two months later she suffered a serious knee injury, and a long rehabilitation has left Kerr stranded on 69 goals.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the Matildas<\/a> have taken more steps back than forward. There was the disappointment of the Paris Olympics, and a group stage exit. The departure of coach Tony Gustavsson. A period of uncertainty and mixed results under interim boss Tom Sermanni. Another knee injury, this time to Mary Fowler. If the appointment of Joe Montemurro in June was reason for optimism, the return of Kerr is uplifting.<\/p>\n

The moment is here after a series of physical setbacks \u2013 Kerr has put the precise number on \u201cseven or eight\u201d \u2013 pushed her return well past the expected timeframe. Rejoining Chelsea training at the end of last season, and an appearance in Matildas\u2019 camp, showed she was close, but it was only this season Kerr returned to the pitch.<\/p>\n

Her inability to contribute on the field created a void. A public captivated by her feats in the years before her injury retained their thirst for Kerr, and her absence amplified her actions off it. Media lapped up news of the pregnancy of her partner Kristie Mewis and the birth of son Jagger. Paparazzi snaps of the couple inspecting the construction of their house in Perth were devoured.<\/p>\n

Kerr leaps for a header the last time she featured in a Matildas shirt nearly two years ago. Photograph: James Worsfold\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nothing took hold like the melodrama of her late night run-in with a London police officer. The court case, in which she was found not guilty to a charge of racially aggravated harassment, was almost as protracted as her injury recovery.<\/p>\n

The evidence sparked a discussion around whether Kerr could continue as captain of one of Australia\u2019s most loved sporting teams. Police bodycam footage had showed the striker calling the constable \u201cfucking stupid and white\u201d. At the conclusion of the trial, she apologised for \u201cexpressing myself poorly\u201d.<\/p>\n

One of Montemurro\u2019s priorities this week is to discuss the captaincy with Kerr alongside stand-in Steph Catley, who has performed ably in her absence. Catley is experienced, a Champions League winner with Arsenal, and is one of the first names on the Matildas team sheet. But she does not have the gravitas of Kerr. Goalkeeper Teagan Micah described Kerr on Tuesday as a \u201cbig figure\u201d within the team.<\/p>\n

But the armband is secondary to Montemourro\u2019s urgent need to assess, and assist, Kerr\u2019s recovery. There are barely four months until the Matildas\u2019 first match at the Asian Cup, against the Philippines in Perth, and the simple truth is no one knows whether Kerr will be able to deliver 90 minutes of international football again.<\/p>\n

Micah said the players want to be patient. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to put any pressure on her or anything, we understand she\u2019s been out for a long time,\u201d she said. \u201cFor us, we just really want her to get back to enjoying football, and I think the goals will come with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kerr\u2019s return in Chelsea colours has been off the bench so far. Photograph: Crystal Pix\/MB Media\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old is yet to play a full match in her return from injury, having come off the bench seven times for Chelsea this season. The earliest Kerr\u2019s number has been called was the 56th minute last week, when the Blues were up 3-0 against Paris FC. Within minutes the Australian had helped set up a goal.<\/p>\n

But this is less of a fairytale comeback, and far more of a grind. In five Women\u2019s Super League substitute appearances this season, Kerr has touched the ball just 33 times. Her one goal was from a goalmouth scramble in her first match, and she has had just one shot on target since. She has shown flashes of the old Kerr, but her club coach Sonia Bompastor has admitted she cannot jeopardise her team\u2019s performance to accommodate the recovery of just one player.<\/p>\n

Kerr\u2019s importance to Chelsea is large. To the Matildas it is gargantuan. But the striker remains just one player. The next week\u2019s friendlies against Wales and England, as well as next month\u2019s clashes against New Zealand, are a opportunity to inject precious playing time into Kerr\u2019s still rebuilding legs. Montemurro, however, is also under pressure to apply his vision on the side, and the coach must arrive at the Asian Cup with at least one plan that doesn\u2019t involve the No 20.<\/p>\n

Last month Kerr reflected on her break, speaking on the podcast of Mewis\u2019s sister, also called Sam. \u201cI hate those moments where it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, my god, 624 days,\u2019\u201d the Australian said. \u201cI just wanted to be on the field so everyone could stop talking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Matildas fans and Kerr\u2019s teammates, the week has finally come. Micah put it simply: \u201cWe\u2019re just really, really happy to have her back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Looking back at a largely forgettable Matildas victory over Taiwan in Perth almost two years ago, the smile…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233907,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-233906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}