Matildas’ silver lining in Kerr heartbreak as injury curse strikes again

Sam Kerr’s Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, suffered in a mid-season Chelsea training camp, has rocked the Matildas’ preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

It’s the second time Kerr has injured her ACL, having first suffered the devastating injury in 2011 – and it ruled her out of the 2012 Olympics in London.

She has not yet been ruled out of this year’s Games, which take place in late July-August, but the Matildas described it as a ‘ruptured’ ligament, which typically requires surgery and a minimum nine months of rehabilitation and recovery.

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Chelsea say ‘no time frame’ has been placed on her return as yet, but have ruled her out of the remainder of the Women’s Super League season which ends in May. She will undergo further testing upon her return to London.

It’s the latest in a sad recent run of injuries suffered by the Matildas captain and Australian all-time record scorer. She suffered a calf injury the day before Australia’s opening game of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which kept her out of the group stage.

She returned for the knockouts, initially off the bench, and scored one of the most memorable goals in Australian football history in the semi-final with a long-range screamer against England.

But in the heartbreaking third-place playoff defeat to Sweden, she suffered a calf injury to her other leg, and has since battled a series of minor niggles at Chelsea, including a foot injury that ruled her out of December’s Matildas friendlies against Canada.

Matildas’ Olympics hopes take major hit as Kerr suffers ‘devastating’ injury blow

“Considering how hard Sam has worked over the past six months to return to