• Player to return to non-contact training soon
• ‘I can finally put this challenging period behind me’

Sam Kerr, who was found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment of a white police officer on Tuesday, is expected to be back on pitch within the next month.

The Guardian understands the 31-year-old Australia captain is close to making her return for Chelsea for the first time since rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament during Chelsea’s warm weather training camp in January 2024, though it is expected that will not come before the international break at the end of this month.