Kerr finally set for Matildas return two years after last appearance

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Sam Kerr is set to make her long-awaited Matildas return from injury this month, with coach Joe Montemurro forecasting game time for the striker in friendlies against Wales and England.

And in another major boost for Australia’s 2026 Asian Cup ambitions, he believes Mary Fowler is closing in on a comeback for Manchester City before the end of the year.

Kerr returned for Chelsea in September, 20 months after rupturing her ACL, in a Women’s Super League cameo against Aston Villa that included her 100th club goal in stoppage-time.

The 32-year-old has come off the bench for four consecutive weeks for a total of about 90 minutes – a carefully managed return that Montemurro plans to continue in the national set-up.

“It’s great to see her back,” he said. “I’ve had a few discussions with her, and the great thing is she’s really got an enthusiasm and a real passion back for the game.

“We’ll definitely do the right thing by her in terms of integrating her. She hasn’t played 90 minutes yet so we’ll just see, getting closer to the camp, what sort of minutes we believe is going to be the best for her.

Sam Kerr in Chelsea’s game against Aston Villa.

“So that we make this process – I suppose, return – perfect both from a football and a mental perspective, [and] that we make sure that she does the right things.”

The other issue to address will be Kerr’s position as incumbent captain, given Steph Catley has been a laudable stand-in for so long with vice-captain Ellie Carpenter.

“Integrating her is probably the first and foremost [priority], to be honest,” Montemurro said of the captaincy. “And I haven’t had a discussion about it - I haven’t spoken to anyone about it. The focus has been getting the squad to a point where we want - and everyone’s on board with that - but the captaincy will be assessed once we get closer to the first game.”

The Matildas squad will be named this Friday for the away games, against Wales at Cardiff City Stadium on October 25 (October 26, 12am AEDT) before a high-profile clash with back-to-back European champions England on October 28 (October 29, 6am AEDT).

It will be the first time Australia have faced the Lionesses since the 2023 World Cup semi-final loss in Sydney, where Kerr scored an astonishing solo goal in her third-last Matildas appearance before her January 2024 injury was followed by a lengthy and complex rehabilitation.

Her frustrations at all the setbacks were laid bare last month in a rare interview, with former United States international Sam Mewis on her podcast Friendlies. Mewis is the sister of Kerr’s partner Kristie.

“I wanted it to just be over,” Kerr said. “I hate those moments where it’s like: ‘Oh, my god, 624 days.’ I just wanted to be on the field, so everyone could stop talking about it.”

The prognosis remains far more promising for Fowler, whose rapid recovery from her own ACL injury sustained in April has the 22-year-old on track to take part in March’s home Asian Cup, a tournament that doubles as the 2027 World Cup qualifiers.

“Going really well,” Montemurro said of Fowler. “And hopefully at the end of the year, we’ll see her getting some game time at City.

“She’s pretty much full into the recovery. They’re at that sort of crucial point now where they’re probably starting to push her a little bit more, which is great. I’ll be going to visit actually next week - I’ll be going to Sydney next week. But she’s travelling really well, and fingers crossed the Asian Cup is looking really, really positive from that perspective.”

This will be Montemurro’s second international window in charge since succeeding Tony Gustavsson, having overseen an experimental set of home friendlies against Slovenia and Panama in the absence of senior players including Catley, Caitlin Foord and Katrina Gorry and only partial participation of some others.

And while the 56-year-old Australian has coached several squad members in previous jobs as manager of Lyon, Juventus, Arsenal, Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory, he acknowledged “time was limited” from the moment he was appointed in June.

The focus since that first camp has been charting development and depth, rolling out “an overload of information” and holding one-on-one calls with players to ensure they “come in with some language” around the principles underpinning his style of play.

“The next camp ... it’s still a little bit of an identification camp,” he said. “I still want to have a look at a couple of players ... whether they fit the way we want to play and how we’re going to approach the Asian Cup. But I’ll be stabilising a lot of the ideas in terms of pattern, the way we want to play.“

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