Kerr could play first Chelsea game in 20 months

In the first game of the Women’s Super League season opener on Friday, Sam Kerr might make her first appearance for 20 months.

Since training camp in January 2024, the Australian striker has an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury.

As the reigning champions begin the 2025-26 WSL season, Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor announced Kerr’s inclusion in the squad to face Manchester City.

Bompastor said, “I’m not sure if she will start or not.

In 75 WSL games for Chelsea, Kerr has scored 58 goals. She played a significant role between 2020-21 and 2022-23 during her three prior WSL titles, winning between 2020-21 and 2022-23.

In Bompastor’s first season as Chelsea manager, in which the Blues won the domestic treble and became the first team to finish a 22-game WSL campaign unbeaten, Kerr was forced to play all of her injuries.

Bompastor is pleased that she is now able to return as she recovers from a number of injuries elsewhere in her senior squad.

Due to injuries suffered during Euro 2025, right-back Lucy Bronze and winger Lauren James will miss the start of the season while left-back Mayra Ramirez will not play until the new year after having hamstring surgery.

Both made their debuts for England in the Euros final, when Bronze revealed that James had a broken shin while she had been playing alongside James, who had an ankle injury that forced her to miss the first half of the first half against Spain.

Although she did not blame England manager Sarina Wiegman or any other player for their continued injuries, she did acknowledge that they were a real problem.

According to Bompastor, “I have a good relationship with Sarina, and I texted her congratulations on winning Euro 2025.”

The Chelsea manager described the situation in which both Bronze and James were trapped, adding, “I was a player. I would have followed suit. However, with this circumstance, it is not ideal to have these two players.

She claimed that setting a timeframe for both’s return was “difficult,” but they would undoubtedly be delayed by “a few weeks.”

After speaking with BBC Sport in which the Lionesses player claimed she had struggled with fan criticism while recovering from an injury at the Euros and that she was afraid of racism after missing a penalty, Bompastor also praised James for her bravery.