Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has confirmed that striker Sam Kerr has returned to training.

The Australian international missed the opening day victory against Tottenham last weekend due to a calf injury and, asked about the forward’s fitness on Friday, Hayes said:

“She’s back in full training.For Sam, she’s never perfect, she always wants a little bit more, but she’s available for selection.”

Hayes’ remarks do suggest that Kerr is not 100% happy with her recocery from the calf problem that she has had since the early stages of the World Cup back in July.

However, the fact that she is training fully and ready to play is a big boost for Chelsea heading into an important match.

Chelsea take on City this Sunday

The Blues face title rivals Manchester City away from home next up, and Hayes will be glad to have Kerr back in contention.

Although the Women’s Super League champions did secure a win against Spurs last time out, they were pretty wasteful in front of goal, despite winning the game 2-1, with strikes from Mia Fischel and Lauren James.

They should have been out of sight by the time Martha Thomas got on the scoresheet, and they ended up working harder than they needed to in order to see out the game. With Kerr available, they should make the most of their chances against City

An update on Chelsea’s injury list

In addition to Kerr, Hayes confirmed that Fran Kirby will be ready to start on Sunday. The England forward came on for the final 30 minutes against Spurs, as she builds up her fitness.

However, Catarina Macario is still a number of weeks away from returning from an ACL injury, while Katerina Svitkova is a long-term absentee as well.

Watch a review of Gameweek 1 of the Women’s Super League on Shots! TV here