Sam Kerr suffers ACL injury during Chelsea training camp

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free

Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Chelsea striker and football superstar Sam Kerr has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, the Women’s Super League champions have confirmed.

The Blues forward and two-time FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year sustained the injury during a warm weather training camp in Morocco, which was taking place during the WSL winter break.

The Australia captain, who finished second in the women’s Ballon d’Or this season, will be assessed by a specialist in the coming days but is set for an extended period on the sidelines.

While the extent of the injury has yet to be confirmed, it will likely rule the 30-year-old out for the rest of the domestic club season, in what is manager Emma Hayes’s final campaign with the English champions, as well as potentially the Paris Olympics.

A statement on Sunday said: “Chelsea Football Club can confirm striker Sam Kerr has sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during our warm weather training camp in Morocco.

“Sam will be assessed by a specialist in the coming days and then begin her rehabilitation with the club’s medical team.”

Kerr’s goals have helped fire Chelsea to four consecutive WSL titles and three consecutive Women’s FA Cups, with the Australian often scoring in crucial games to help the Blues win silverware.

She has scored the winning goal in three FA Cup finals in a row and has won the WSL Golden Boot award twice.

Kerr’s injury means the Matildas star is the latest high-profile women’s football to suffer an ACL injury, with the likes of Arsenal’s Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema and Leah Williamson and Barcelona and Spain’s former Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas all suffering the same injury over the past couple of seasons.

Kerr has scored four goals in eight games for the Blues in the WSL this season and she has dominated in the Champions League, scoring five goals in four.