Sam Kerr suffers ACL injury during Chelsea training camp

Sam Kerr has suffered an ACL injury while training with Chelsea at a warm-weather camp in Morocco. The Matildas star will be out for the season. 

Matildas star Sam Kerr will miss the rest of the 2023-24 WSL season after suffering an ACL injury with Chelsea during the club’s warm-weather training camp in Morocco this week.  
 
Kerr is expected to miss around 9 months, which means she will miss Australia’s Olympics campaign, should the Matildas qualify. 

Kerr out for the season with ACL injury 

WSL clubs are in the middle of their winter break. Most clubs are getting players back from injury or signing new reenforcements in the transfer window. For Chelsea, they’ve instead lost their most important player; Sam Kerr.  
 
The legendary Australian striker went down with a knee injury during a session in Morocco, where the Blues were holding a warm weather training camp to prepare for the rest of the season.  
 
“Chelsea Football Club can confirm striker Sam Kerr has sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during our warm weather training camp in Morocco,” The club said via a statement. 
 
Chelsea further went on to say that “Sam will be assessed by a specialist in the coming days and then begin her rehabilitation with the club’s medical team,” meaning that there is no set timetable for Kerr’s return yet.  
 
Typically, ACL injuries are very long term injuries. Some male players have been able to recover in as little as six months, but missing an entire year is not uncommon. For women’s players things are a lot different. ACL injuries are strikingly more common and more severe in the women’s game.  
 
Stars like The Netherland’s Vivianne Miedema, England's Beth Mead, and Canada’s Janine Beckie have all suffered ACL injuries recently. For women’s players, nine months is a more realistic timeline. However, depending on the severity of the injury and whether her surgery is successful, Kerr could be out for much longer than nine months. Brighton midfielder Jakub Moder missed nearly two full seasons after tearing his ACL in April 2022.

Matildas and Chelsea left without their star

Both Chelsea and the Matildas have many good players on their sides, but Kerr is the cream of the crop for both squads.  
 
The 30-year-old striker has scored 69 goals in 128 caps for Australia. For the Blues, Kerr has scored 99 goals in 128 first team appearances. She has been nominated for every edition of the women’s Ballon d’Or to date. Without Kerr, Both Chelsea and Australia are missing out on guaranteed goals and a focal point for their attacks.  
 
Chelsea are currently top of the table in the WSL, closely competing with Man City and Arsenal. The Blues are just three points clear of the Gunners and the Cityzens with 12 matches left to play in the 2023-24 WSL season. 
 
The Matildas are in the middle of their Olympic Qualifying campaign. They have one more round of qualifying matches to play before securing their spot in the Paris 2024 tournament.  

If they do qualify, which they should, Australia will compete at the Olympics without Sam Kerr. Thankfully, the Matildas know what it’s like to enter a major tournament without their star.  
 
Kerr didn’t feature much for the Matildas at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand because of an ankle injury she had at the time.