Chelsea were back in action on Sunday after the winter break and beat championship opponents Charlton Athletic 4-0 in the fourth round of the Women’s FA Cup.
Mayra Ramirez, Guro Reiten, Aggie Beever-Jones and Niamh Charles were all on the scoresheet, but Sonia Bompastor was still without a handful of key players.
Kadeisha Buchanan and Sophie Ingle are the long-term absentees due to cruciate ligament injuries, while Lauren James and the aforementioned Charles only recently returned from injury.
Mia Fishel and Sam Kerr both suffered ACL injuries at the start of 2024 and fans are eagerly awaiting their return as their recovery times near the one-year mark. Kerr in particular has been one of Chelsea’s most important figures since her move to the WSL from the Chicago Red Stars in 2020.
Kerr suffered the injury during a warm-weather training camp in Morocco with the club last January and has been sidelined ever since. Neither Kerr nor Fishel have returned to team training yet and are still a long way from being back on the pitch.
The pair traveled with the team to Portugal for this year’s warm-weather training camp, but completed their own program separately from the group. Bompastor had already suggested before Christmas that a return in February or March was the most likely scenario for Kerr.
“We hope to maybe have her back with us [in] February [or] “March, not before,” Bompastor told the media last month. “She is still undergoing her individual rehabilitation. It will take at least two to three months before she is fit enough to be in the squad.
That would take her recovery time well beyond a year, but could allow her to feature at a crucial point in the season as Chelsea head towards another WSL title. The team has won nine of its ten league games so far this season and has only lost points once.
Chelsea are six points clear at the top of the table, closely followed by Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United. The London club have also qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League and are hoping to finally end their wait for a European title.
The WSL leaders will face West Ham United at the Chigwell Construction Stadium this weekend before welcoming Championship side Durham to Kingsmeadow in the quarter-finals of the newly renamed Subway Women’s League Cup next week.