Returning Matildas star Sam Kerr ‘passionate’ about regaining captain’s armband after lengthy absence

Sam Kerr has declared she wants the Matildas captaincy back ahead of next year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup. Kerr, 32, is poised to make her first Matildas appearance since November 2023 on Sunday morning (AEDT) when Australia meets Wales in Cardiff. The star striker ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee in January last year and only returned to action for her English club team Chelsea last month. In Kerr’s lengthy absence from the national team, Steph Catley has been Australia’s captain, and there have been several calls for the Arsenal star to remain as the Matildas skipper, particularly amid the fallout from Kerr’s well publicised court case, in which she was ultimately found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer. While Kerr’s priority is to again score goals for the Matildas, she also remains “passionate” about again donning the captain’s armband. “On being the captain, of course I still feel really passionate about that,” she said on Friday. “I have so much more to give for this team in a leadership role. “This team here will make football decisions, and I feel like football-wise, I’m one of the best leaders in the team. “I feel really passionate and proud that I’ve been in that position before, and hopefully (it will) continue forward.” Regardless of whether she regains the captaincy, Kerr is just thrilled to again have the chance to play for the Matildas, admitting there were “dark days” during her lengthy absence from football. “I struggled a little bit in the first nine months with a few (recovery) setbacks, and there were a few times there where I was like ‘gosh I don’t know if this will ever go away’, but I’ve always had that burning desire, and I’ve had a lot of good people around me that have pushed me to keep going,” she said. “As an athlete, you go up and down in self-belief and self-doubt when you’re injured. It’s hard to be away from the game. “I’ve always had that burning desire to come back, but there’s definitely been days where I thought ‘gosh, I might never shake this one’.” Such doubts came from a “mystery” issue with her leg on top of her ruptured knee ligament. “Everyone was really positive, but something else that was going on in my leg. It was a little bit of a mystery, and no-one could figure it out until a later date,” Kerr said. “Pretty much, I just had an issue with my graft, but nothing was showing up on the MRI (scan). I had pain for 10 months. I was saying I was in pain, and everyone was like ‘we can’t see anything’. “Then I had to get surgery on it, and it was all fixed.” One question off limits in Kerr’s return Meanwhile, Code Sports reports media were given strict instructions from Football Australia not to ask Kerr about her high-profile court case in February. Kerr was found not guilty by a jury of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer after calling a British policeman “f***** stupid and white”. While she wasn’t asked about the case that dominated headlines in Australia for weeks, she did admit her playing comeback had been at times “frustrating” because of her eagerness to play more minutes than she has been for Chelsea. “I’ve come back from my injury, but there’s a year and a half of no football behind me, so it’s been quite frustrating because I want to play as much minutes as possible, but there’s been people a lot smarter than me holding me back a little bit,” she said. “I’m definitely not 90-minute fit. I think I’ve got about 70 minutes in me. That’s what I would say. I don’t know about the other people, but I’m moving towards getting 90-minute fit. “Every day, every session is helpful for me, because I’ve had a year and a half out of football, so I just need more sessions, more game time. I’m fully fit, but I’m about 70-80 per cent game fit. “I’ve had a long time out of football and the Asian Cup (which starts in March) is the most important thing to me coming up, so there’s no need to rush it. “The Asian Cup is so important. When I last won it (in 2010), I was a young 16-year-old kid, so I didn’t even really get to experience what it actually was like. “Looking back, I was living my dream without even knowing it, so it would be good to hopefully lift the trophy. It would be a dream come true.” - with news.com.au