Sam Kerr is one step closer to returning to the football pitch after the Matildas captain was named in Chelsea's Champions League squad.
Kerr has been sidelined for the English giants since January 2024 after suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
But the 31-year-old is poised to don Chelsea colours when the team faces Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals this month.
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Chelsea opted against punishing Kerr after her court case, in which she was found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment last month.
Kerr's inclusion in the Chelsea squad must be of great relief for the star striker and her teammates, who are sitting atop the Super League table.
Given the West Australian's prolonged absence from the game, coach Sonia Bompastor tried to diffuse the hype.
"For Sam, we will see," Bompastor told reporters in London.
Sam Kerr of Chelsea in action during a Chelsea FC Women's training session.
Sam Kerr in action during a Chelsea FC Women's training session last week. Chelsea FC via Getty Images
"She is progressing really well in her rehab but I just want her to feel like the main focus for her will be to work really hard, be the best version of herself.
"If we have positive news and she can bring into the team her experience but also her competencies, it will be great.
"We have been in this timeframe and now we just need to focus on what we need to do with her every day to make sure she is the most close to coming back on the pitch.
"Everyone is different, everyone reacts differently from the beginning, the surgery and everything, so it's really difficult to say and put a timeframe for every injury.
"I just want her to focus step by step but the main thing for me is to make sure she works hard and she just comes back in the squad.
"I just want to make it clear, I think it is not really fair to expect from a player who has been injured for now 15 months ... to be the hero in the team."
Chelsea's Sam Kerr celebrates scoring their side's third goal of the game during the Barclays Women's Super League match in 2023.
Chelsea's Sam Kerr celebrates scoring a goal. PA Images via Getty Images
Chelsea has yet to be defeated in any competition this season and will face Mary Fowler and her Manchester City teammates four times over the next fortnight.
Their first meeting will be next Saturday (AEDT) in the Women's League Cup final, but Kerr has not been named to play in that match.
It remains unclear if Kerr's return to Chelsea will see her called back into the Matildas squad ahead of Australia's April friendlies against South Korea.
Interim Matildas coach Tom Sermanni is set to confirm the squad in late March, but with Kerr yet to be fielded for Chelsea it is likely she will make her national team return at a later date.