When will Sam Kerr return from his ACL injury for Chelsea?

Chelsea returned to action on Sunday after the winter break, defeating rivals Charlton Athletic 4-0 in the fourth round of the Women’s FA Cup.

Mayra Ramirez, Juru Ritten, Aggie Beaver-Jones and Niamh Charles all scored, but Sonia Bombastor was still without a few key players.

Kadisha Buchanan and Sophie Ingle are the long-term absentees after suffering ACL injuries, while Lauren James and the aforementioned Charles have recently returned from injury.

Mia Fishel and Sam Kerr both suffered ACL injuries at the start of 2024, and fans are eagerly awaiting their returns as they approach the one-year mark. Kerr, in particular, was one of them ChelseaThe most important figures since then WSL Arriving from Chicago Red Stars in 2020.

Kerr suffered the injury last January while he was in a training camp in Morocco with the club and has been sidelined since then. Neither Kerr nor Fishel have returned to full team training yet and are still a long way off from returning to the pitch.

The pair traveled to Portugal with the team for warm-weather training camp this year, but completed their own program separate from the group. Bombastor previously hinted before Christmas that a return in February or March was the most likely scenario for Kerr.

“We are looking forward to having her back with us (in) February (or) March, not before,” Bombastor told the media last month. “She’s still in the individual rehabilitation phase. It will take at least another two or three months until she’s fit enough to be with the team.”

This would set the recovery timeline back over a year, but could allow her to take part in a crucial stage of the season as Chelsea head towards another Premier League title. The team has won nine of its ten league matches so far this season and has dropped points on only one occasion.

Chelsea is six points away at the top of the table, followed closely behind Manchester City, Arsenal And Manchester United. The London club also qualified for the knockout rounds of the tournament UEFA Champions League As they look to finally end their wait for a European title.

The WSL leaders will travel to take on West Ham United at Chigwell Construction Stadium this weekend before welcoming Championship side Durham to Kingsmeadow in the quarter-finals of the newly renamed Subway Women’s Cup next week.

Read the latest women’s football news, features and analysis