Matildas get a kick out of seeing Captain Sam Kerr back on deck

Sam Kerr’s return to the Matildas camp has been welcomed, as she took to the streets in Sydney with not a hint of the bother from her hellish past year.

Matildas superstar Sam Kerr on Wednesday enjoying a family day out in Sydney. Picture: Matrix

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The skipper is back. Not heard, but definitely seen.

Sam Kerr has been pictured signing autographs with fans at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney’s inner west and strolling the streets of upmarket Double Bay – stopping for selfies with adoring locals – with not a hint of the bother from her hellish past year.

It’s Matildas business as usual for the soccer superstar.

Kerr is not playing against South Korea in the Matildas’ two-match series starting on Friday but her return to camp has been welcomed in the hope that her presence will help lift arguably Australia’s most popular team from its slump.

The Matildas have slipped to their equal worst position in the history of the FIFA world rankings. After losing all three matches at the recent SheBelieves Cup in the US, the women fell one place to No 16.

Kerr in Sydney on Wednesday. Picture: Backgrid

Kerr is a powerful figure for the Matildas even when she is not on the field. It was in 2023 that a sometimes-injured Kerr effectively served as a coach at times during the Matildas strong World Cup campaign, which saw them make the semi-finals.

So it’s no surprise Football Australia won’t stand in Kerr’s way if she wants to lead her country again, although that is dependent on getting her body right.

At the moment, Kerr is in line to make her Matildas return in front of 50,000 fans at home after Football Australia locked in a mid-year friendly series against Argentina. If her knee is OK, her next opportunity to make the team will come against either Argentina at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on May 30 or Canberra’s GIO Stadium on June 2.

Right now, Kerr is using the Matildas high performance team to try to help rehabilitate the injury that has kept her sidelined since January 2024 when she tore her ACL during a training camp with club team Chelsea.

This is her first Matildas camp in nearly two years.

Kerr is yet to give an extensive interview on the events and fallout that saw her charged and later found not guilty on one charge of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer. She has released two statements, including one after meeting with FA powerbrokers last week. Following the meeting, the Matildas captain on Monday admitted to “sincere regret” for how “events unfolded” after a drunken incident in London resulted in her being arrested.

Kerr in court was found not guilty after calling a Metropolitan Police officer “stupid and white”, but she kept the incident private for many months, including during the 2023 World Cup.

Football Australia learned about the police charge only via the media, almost a year after the incident, and recently conducted a review into her behaviour.

In court, Kerr said she was “antagonised” by officers after she was taken to a police station by a taxi driver following a dispute. She was cleared by the jury after it deliberated for four hours.

In the statement, FA said after reviewing the full context of these events, they concluded that Kerr’s professional and sincere acceptance of responsibility, as well as her acknowledgment of the far-reaching implications of on-and off-field actions, warranted no further action.

As it stands, all is well in Kerr’s world as she prepares for her biggest comeback ever.