Great news for Chelsea! Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel included in Blues squad for winter training camp in Portugal as pair continue to recovery from ACL injuries

Chelsea were dealt a double blow at the start of 2024 when both strikers suffered the same devastating knee injury just a few weeks apart. Kerr was sidelined after enduring the setback on the Blues' warm weather training camp in Morocco in early January, while Fishel sustained the injury while on international duty with the United States in February.

Head coach Sonia Bompastor has been able to deliver vaguely encouraging updates on the progress of both players throughout the first half of the 2024-25 season, albeit without giving any particular return date for either given the severity and long-term nature of ACL injuries. That Kerr and Fishel will be able to join the trip to Portugal this month as they continue their recoveries is a positive sign though, even if neither is ready to return to action just yet.

Competition to be Chelsea's starting striker is going to be extraordinarily fierce when Kerr and Fishel do return to action, as the club acted to bring in another top quality No.9 last January, in Mayra Ramirez, following the injury to Kerr. The emergence of academy product Aggie Beever-Jones, able to play as a striker or a winger, and the versatility of U.S. forward Catarina Macario only adds to the depth that will be available to Bompastor when everyone is fully fit again.

After enjoying the winter trip to Portugal, Chelsea will be back in action on January 12 when they host Championship side Charlton in the Women's FA Cup fourth round. The resumption of the Women's Super League will come a week later, when the league leaders visit West Ham. When Bompastor will be able to re-introduce Kerr and Fishel remains unclear, but fans will certainly hope to see them soon.