Sam Kerr is set to play her first game for the Matildas in almost two years with coach Joe Montemurro all but confirming the superstar striker’s involvement in upcoming friendlies against Wales and England.
In more good news ahead of next March’s Asian Cup, Montemurro also expects injured star Mary Fowler to be back playing with Manchester City by the end of the year.
Kerr hasn’t played for Australia since November 2023, having endured a horror rehabilitation from an ACL tear suffered in a Chelsea training camp in January 2024.
The superstar striker returned for the Blues last month, scoring her 100th goal for the club in her first game back, and Montemurro believes she has rediscovered her “passion” for football.
Montemurro confirmed Kerr had “a good chance of making the squad” for games against Wales at Cardiff City Stadium on 25 October (local time) and England at Derby’s Pride Park three days later.
The 32-year-old has been on limited minutes at Chelsea and is likely to be gradually introduced in those games.
“It’s great to see her back,” Montemurro said at a media roundtable. “Obviously I’ve had a few discussions with her, and I think the great thing is that she’s really got an enthusiasm and a real passion back for the game. That’s the first and foremost important part of that.
“We’ll definitely do the right thing by her in terms of integrating her. She hasn’t played 90 minutes yet.
“So we’ll just see, getting closer to camp, what sort of minutes we believe is going to be the the best for her, so that we make this process I suppose – or return – perfect, both from a football and a mental perspective, that we make sure that she does the right things from that perspective.
“But the biggest thing before was the communication with the coaches and her and to make sure that we do the right thing for her minutes. But it’s just great to have her back.”
Kerr previously joined Matildas camps in a non-playing capacity as part of her rehabilitation.
Montemurro has yet to speak to Kerr about whether she will retain the captaincy, with Steph Catley donning the armband during her absence with aplomb.
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“Integrating her is probably the first and foremost thing,” Montemurro said of Kerr. “And to be honest, I haven’t had a discussion about it. I haven’t spoken to anyone about it.
“The focus has been getting the squad to a point where we want to and everyone’s on board with that. But the captaincy will be assessed once we get closer to the first game.”
Playmaker Fowler, 22, is on the comeback trail from her ACL tear suffered in April and is already back running.
“Going really well,” Montemurro said. “Hopefully the end of the year we’ll see her getting some game time at City.
“She’s pretty much full into the recovery. They’re at that sort of crucial point now where they’re probably starting to push her a little bit more, which is great.
“I’ll be going to visit, actually next week – I’ll be going to City next week. But she’s travelling really well and fingers crossed the Asian Cup is looking really, really positive from that perspective.”
