Sonia Bompastor is unwilling to give an estimate on the return of Sam Kerr to full fitness, despite the Australia forward being pictured in Chelsea training this week.
Kerr, who was found not guilty of causing racially aggravated intentional harassment, distress or alarm on Tuesday at Kingston Crown Court, has not played for Chelsea since sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in January last year.
The 31-year-old has been pictured back on the grass with team-mates but the club won’t rush a comeback after such a long time away.
“She’s progressing with the rehab and going in the right direction but it’s difficult for me to give a precise time frame,” Bompastor said.
“We are really happy to have her back with the team but she is still being managed. It’s really individual and every player is different.”
Bompastor also gave her support to Kerr after the court case, with the Chelsea manager describing Kerr’s Instagram statement apologising for the incident as “enough”.
“Who she is doesn’t reflect what I heard in court,” Bompastor said. “It is difficult for me to understand how she had to spend one week in court but that’s the way it is. The most important thing now is that she can look to the future.”
Kerr in her statement said: “While I apologise for expressing myself poorly on what as a traumatic evening, I have always maintained that I did not intend to insult or harm anyone and I am thankful that the jury unanimously agreed.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea fans will have to wait until after the international break to see their world-record signing Naomi Girma.
Girma, who signed for a record $1.1m in January, was left out of the USWNT squad for the upcoming SheBelieves Cup games with Colombia, Australia and Japan. She has been suffering with a calf injury and is yet to make an appearance for her new club.
“Naomi is practising with us but not fully practising,” Bompastor explained. “She’s in a really good place and she’s close to coming back but not this weekend.”
(Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)
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