Sam Kerr speaks out for the first time since ACL injury with note of appreciation for Millie Bright

Sam Kerr has shared a note of appreciation for a superstar teammate after the injury blow that has all but ended the Matildas captain’s year.

The 30-year-old suffered a ruptured ACL at Chelsea’s training camp in Morocco on the weekend, cruelling her hopes of leading Australia’s medal hunt at the Paris Olympics in July.

Kerr was not quoted in statements issued by her club or Football Australia but has now spoken out for the first time.

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Seated for Chelsea’s flight home to London, the Australian shared a photo of her captain and England veteran Millie Bright smiling in front of her.

“Don’t know what I would have done without my Millie B (the) last few days,” Kerr wrote.

“Been an absolute nurse queen.”

Kerr has been teammates with Bright since joining Chelsea in 2020, and the pair were opposing skippers when the Matildas and England battled in the FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final earlier this year.

One of Bright’s first acts after the Lionesses’s victory was to comfort Kerr, a role she evidently took up again in Morocco.

Bright has previously spoken out on the need for more research into ACL injuries in women’s football after the unfortunately common problem saw three teammates miss out on England’s World Cup campaign.

“From a female perspective, it is different. We all know the body is very different to the male. But it is more than just one factor,” Bright said in July.

“It’s facilities, pitches, the number of games we are playing – the amount of rest is absolutely critical.

“It’s everything together, and all the elements need to align if we want to perform at the highest level.”

But even the perfect amount of rest and ideal weather conditions can’t save some players.

Chelsea noted Kerr’s ACL injury occurred at the team’s warm-weather training camp, which took place nearly three weeks into the Women’s Super League winter break.

Kerr has dealt with several injuries since suffering a calf problem that delayed her World Cup campaign and ruled her out of matches against Canada last month.

“It’s been a rough three months for me, to be honest, I’ve been battling calf, foot, knee … but I’ve got to do what’s best for me, the Matildas, Chelsea,” she said in December.

“At the end of the day I’m a 30-year-old now, I’m not 21, so I’m doing what’s best for me and my career.”

Australia lost 6-0 and 1-0 against Canada without the star striker, whose absence was defended by Chelsea manager Emma Hayes prior to a WSL match.

“People need to understand that Sam played through the World Cup with a significant calf injury and came back injured and has been carrying that injury throughout, plus an issue within her foot,” Hayes told the BBC.

“What she’s done for her club and country over the past four, five years is nothing short of remarkable — but her body couldn’t withstand much more, so she’s needed the time to get herself right, because she hasn’t been 100 per cent.”