Emma Hayes has refused to speculate over the future of injured striker Sam Kerr, whose Chelsea contract expires this summer.
Kerr underwent surgery on Thursday on an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury suffered during what boss Hayes described as an “innocuous” turning and shooting exercise during the Blues’ warm-weather training in Morocco.
The lengthy recovery process all but guarantees the Australia captain will miss the remainder of both the Women’s Super League and Champions League campaigns, the latter Hayes’ last chance to win that elusive trophy before she parts ways with Chelsea to begin her new role as head coach of the United States women’s national team.
Asked about Kerr’s contract and concerns the forward might have played her final game for Chelsea, Hayes said: “With the announcement (of Kerr’s injury) the focus for Sam right now is on rehab.
“I’m sure when the time is right to discuss her future that will come from Sam and the club, but Sam loves Chelsea and Chelsea loves Sam, so I think that’s the most important thing to say on that front.”
England and Chelsea midfielder Fran Kirby, 30, is also out of contract this summer and earlier this week claimed in an interview with the BBC that there had been no conversations with the club about her future.
Kirby – who has experienced a number of setbacks of her own, including the knee issue that ruled her out of last summer’s World Cup and a spell out with pericarditis – expressed hope that she could continue playing top-flight football after her current deal expires.
Hayes said: “I think when it comes to Fran, it’s not unusual for players to go into the last six months of their contract. Fran knows that our goal with her is to keep her on the pitch for 100 per cent of the season, not less than 50 per cent.
“She understands that and sometimes she is a bit impatient. She wants to do everything at once but we know what a talent she is, we know what we can expect from Fran, and I’m sure, again, when the club and the player and all of the people involved with that have something to announce on that front, they will.
“But I don’t think anybody should be too panicked just because of the timelines. We have worked over 11 years to put in place a structure to make sure we’re always planning and preparing, and I think Chelsea and its future are still in a very, very good place.”
Meanwhile, there was good news about Catarina Macario, the 24-year-old USA forward who signed with the Blues in July but has yet to make an appearance for Chelsea as she endured her own prolonged recovery from an ACL injury.
Macario took a “progressive” part in the team’s sessions in Morocco and Hayes added: “I think this first part over the next couple of weeks will be the reintroduction and I think Chelsea fans can expect to see her quite soon.”
