- Sam Kerr saw walking without crutches for the first time
- The Australian captain, 30, injured her knee during training
- The Matildas have two Olympic qualifiers later this month
Matildas superstar Sam Kerr has been without crutches after a knee injury prevented her from playing for Australia at the Paris Olympics.
The Australian captain and Chelsea star suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury during Chelsea’s warm-weather training camp in January.
On Tuesday, Kerr’s teammate Millie Bright posted a promising update on social media about the injury.
Bright’s Instagram story, captioned ‘This makes me happy’, showed a smiling Kerr walking around the physio room without crutches.
Kerr reposted the clip to her own account and joked that it was her “max speed PB.”
Sam Kerr was recorded walking around the physio room without crutches
The Matildas captain will not play again in 2024 due to a serious cruciate ligament injury
The Matildas travel to Uzbekistan next week for the first match of the third and final qualifying round for the Olympic Games in July.
Kerr’s father, Roger Kerr, spoke for many football supporters when he said it was ‘sad news’ that his daughter had re-injured her knee.
“It was quite disappointing and upsetting so we had a few restless nights,” he told Seven News.
‘I think she’s a little numb. It’s coming to the Olympic Games and Olympic Qualifiers in February.
“She had some sort of injured World Cup and now we were all looking forward and Australia was looking forward to the Olympics… it’s sad news.”
Mr Kerr added that an ACL injury usually takes ’12 months to get better’, so ‘hopefully she can return to the field in 2025.’
He then pointed to her significant workload, which sees her play more than 50 games a year – for Chelsea and Australia.
As a unit, the Matildas need to regroup quickly – they will take on Uzbekistan in a two-legged play-off in February in a bid to qualify for the Olympics.
Kerr (pictured, with partner Kristie) injured her calf before last year’s World Cup on home soil
Kerr, who has often referenced how Cathy Freeman’s 2000 Olympic gold medal inspired her as a youngster, featured in both the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
The goalscorer was a key figure as Australia won many admirers after finishing fourth.
Her father expects her to focus on the next World Cup and possibly the 2028 Olympics before hanging up her boots.