Sam Kerr makes a HUGE step toward returning Chelsea

Superstar striker Sam Kerr is closing in on a return for Chelsea, almost a year after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament during a training camp in Morocco.

Kerr, 31, subsequently missed the Paris Olympics after last January's injury – and recently admitted her recovery has been frustrating at times.

But if a Chelsea FCW Instagram story on Tuesday is any guide, it appears the Matildas captain will soon be back on the Blues' teamsheet.

In the clip, Kerr can be seen joking around with her teammates as they prepare for a team photo shoot in London.

Kerr will not play in the Women's Super League this season as she returns to full fitness.

It comes after Kerr announced on Instagram in November that she and her longtime partner Kristie Mewis are expecting a baby in 2025.

The pair posted a heartwarming series of photos of themselves holding up a photo of Mewis' scans.

The football duo – Mewis plays for West Ham and the USWNT – were all smiles as they celebrated the exciting news with their Instagram followers.

Kerr's Matildas teammate and Manchester City star Mary Fowler was one of the first to comment on the post, writing: 'Congratulations' and adding a 'heart-eyes' emoji.

Meanwhile, Kerr's trial on charges of alleged racist harassment of a police officer will take place in February next year.

Kerr denies charges of deliberately causing 'racially aggravated harassment, alarm or fear of a police officer' after a night out in Twickenham, London in January 2023.

The trial will last four days from February 3.

It is understood PC Stephen Lovell was called to the scene at Twickenham over a taxi fare dispute after the superstar footballer spent the evening celebrating an FA Cup win over Liverpool – where she scored a hat-trick for Chelsea.

Kerr also reportedly vomited in the taxi and was arrested and interviewed at the time.

Her legal team has since argued that Kerr was the victim of an abuse of process after it took a year for her charges to be filed.

Kerr will not be required to attend the hearing in person in February next year.

If convicted, Kerr could face a maximum prison sentence of two years or be deported from the UK.