Sam Kerr talks injury return, new leadership and Chelsea silverware dreams

Sam Kerr isn't putting a date on her return to the pitch as her ACL recovery nears its end ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 Barclays Women's Super League season.

The striker, who extended her contract at Chelsea for another two years this summer, missed out on a huge chunk of last season after being struck down by injury in January.

The devastating blow, which happened in Morocco at a warm weather training camp, meant Kerr missed out on Chelsea's nail-biting title race and the opportunity to represent her country at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Although claiming this week that she is "close to getting back on the field", Kerr stressed she isn't rushing back.

Speaking to Optus Sport, the 31-year-old explained: "The injury is good. I'm not putting a date on my return, just making sure I get it right and making sure I feel good before I get back on the pitch.

"I mean, it's my second ACL, so I know you need to take the time, you need to make sure it's right and I'm doing everything I can. But there's definitely no rush for me, I want to make sure I can play for many more years to come."

The striker quickly became one of the world's most famous players after signing with Chelsea ahead of the second half of the 2020/21 season. Last year, her impressive performances on the pitch saw her named runner-up for the Women's Ballon d'Or, having finished third the previous two years.

Ahead of her injury, she'd scored 99 career goals for Chelsea and will certainly be looking to build upon that number when she's fully recovered. During her recovery, however, Emma Hayes confirmed her departure from the club, meaning Kerr will make a return under new manager Sonia Bompastor.

Despite admitting that the first few days after Hayes' exit felt a "bit weird", Kerr praised the personality Bompastor has brought to the team.

"Sonia's come in and done really well to implement her own personality on the team, and we're all enjoying it so far," she said. "First of all, she's French and she's very French and I think she's got a good ba;lance of having a joke and having a laugh, but also quite strict and to the point, which I think we like and we needed.

"I think she seems really, really good and really tough, in a good way."

Chelsea will be aiming for a sixth consecutive WSL title next season - something Kerr obviously wants to play a pivotal role in - but lifting the Champions League is one of her main ambitions next year.

"We would love to win the Champions League, that's the one we want," she revealed. "I think every year that's what we shoot for. We've fallen short a few years in a row and hopefully Sonia brings that to this club. But, obviously, we want to win as many championships as we can.

"We'd love to retain the league again, get the Conti Cup back, get the FA Cup back, but the main one for us is the Champions League, and we're going for that this year."

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