Steph Catley has expressed her joy at "massive threat" Sam Kerr's long awaited return to national colours this week.
Catley has captained the Matildas in Kerr's absence, with the Chelsea striker sidelined for nearly two years after rupturing her ACL at a training camp in early 2024.
The return of Australia's greatest ever goalscorer appears likely to spell the end of Catley's time wearing the armband, but she couldn't be happier to have the strike weapon back firing again.
Kerr has gradually increased her minutes for Chelsea and started Australia's 2-1 friendly win over Wales on Sunday, getting through 60 minutes unscathed.
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“She’s worked so, so hard to get to this point,” Catley said. “It’s been a really hard time for her.
"As a friend, it’s just nice to see her get the rewards of hard work and be back and be healthy.
"And I think for world football, it’s nice to see one of the best players in the world out there again.”
The Matildas next face old enemy England on Wednesday AEDT and there is a chance Kerr may finally captain the side once more.
The team sorely has missed Kerr's leadership and threat around goal and has her back for the build-up to next year's AFC Asian Cup on home soil.
“We’ve missed her over the last two years," Catley said. "She’s our captain, she’s our goal-scorer for the most part, she’s always a massive threat.
“She’s been a staple in our team for many, many years. Just to have around the group, she’s incredible.
"Having her around and back on the pitch is amazing.”