Chelsea have included injured forward Sam Kerr in their 25-player squad for the Champions League knockout stages.
The 31-year-old Australia international has been sidelined for more than a year after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament during training in January 2024.
Kerr has scored 95 goals 122 appearances for Chelsea, winning five Women’s Super League titles since joining the club from Chicago Red Stars in 2020.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor says it is “difficult to predict” when Kerr will be available for selection, but her presence in Chelsea’s squad for their European quarter-final with Manchester City could suggest she is nearing a return.
The first leg takes place at City on Wednesday, 19 March (20:00 GMT) and Kerr’s inclusion in the squad means American forward Mia Fishel misses out.
Chelsea also face City in the Women’s League Cup final on Saturday, which is the first of four consecutive matches between the two sides over a 12-day period.
“We just need to focus on what we do with her [Kerr] every day so that she can be close to coming back on the pitch,” said Bompastor.
“Every player is different, some can return from an ACL injury after 10 months, others 13 or 14.”
In February, Kerr was found not guilty of causing racially aggravated harassment, after calling a Metropolitan Police officer “stupid and white”.
Despite her involvement in the court case, Chelsea have remained behind Kerr, who made her senior Australia debut aged just 15.
She finished third in the Ballon d’Or Feminin in 2021 and 2022, before coming second in 2023.
