After enjoying a dream first game back from her 20-month injury lay-off, superstar striker Sam Kerr has four Chelsea games to build fitness ahead of her hotly-anticipated Matildas return.
Kerr made a stunning goalscoring return, netting her 100th goal for English club side Chelsea in their 3-1 victory at Aston Villa.
After being kept on the bench for the opening fixture of the Women's Super League season against Manchester City, Kerr was finally unleashed as a late substitute on Sunday.
And the 32-year-old Australian, who hadn't played for the Blues since January 2024 because of a chronic ACL injury, immediately made her presence felt at Villa Park by netting the third goal in the Londoners' second-straight league win.
"I'm a goalscorer, that's what I love doing, and those 100 goals represent a lot of hard work, dedication and sacrifices to get there," Kerr said after reaching the landmark in just 128 games for Chelsea.
"To score 100 goals for any club is amazing, but to do it for a club like Chelsea is incredible. It's something I'm really proud of and I don't take it lightly."
The next milestone for Kerr will be her return to the international fray, against either Wales in Cardiff on October 25 or England in Derby three days later.
Before that international break, she'll have the chance to build on her minutes in her home return against Leicester City, away games against West Ham and Manchester United and a home clash with Tottenham.
Kerr hasn't played for her country since November 2023, when she starred in Olympic qualifiers in Perth.
Clearly new coach Joe Montemurro will be desperate to embed the striker in his system ahead of March's Asian Cup, while he and Kerr will clearly need to address whether she continues as captain ahead of Steph Catley.
Montemurro would surely already be pleased with what Kerr offered in her short cameo on Sunday, even beyond her goal.
Kerr should have scored earlier in the piece but laid the ball off to Aggie Beaver-Jones, while the striker also had some shot assists and showed good movement.
Her coach Sonia Bompastor had hinted the Matildas captain would be in action with a "hopefully we'll see" at her press conference on Friday.
And Kerr's appearance off the bench in the 75th minute was a huge boost to the visitors, who were leading 2-1 at that stage thanks to Beever-Jones's second strike of the season, which was cancelled out by Ebony Salmon, before a Missy Bo Kearns own-goal.
Kerr, whose fellow Matilda Ellie Carpenter also featured for Chelsea in the match, then made an immediate impact, racking up a club century by ramming home a loose ball in the Villa box from close range, three minutes into added time.
"I know people may think scoring 100 goals is just another thing, but for me, it's an amazing achievement and something I'll look back on for the rest of my life," Kerr added.
Coach Bompastor added: "I was really pleased Sam was able to come on for 20 minutes and was even more pleased with the fact she was able to score.
"I think it's wonderful. Personally, I'm really pleased, but I think she is also really pleased with that, and you know what Sam represents for Chelsea. For me, she's an idol."
Later, Australia defenders Clare Hunt and substitute Charlotte Grant both helped Tottenham maintain their 100 per cent start to the season with an impressive 2-0 over win at Everton, for whom their international teammate Clare Wheeler was a starter.
Another Matildas star getting on the scoresheet was Leicester City's Emily van Egmond, who delivered a delightful winner in a 1-0 win over Liverpool.
The Reds had been thumped 4-1 by Everton in their opening match and van Egmond's headed goal on the hour sent them to a second defeat.
Manchester United returned to the top of the table after thrashing a London City Lionesses side featuring Matildas defender Alanna Kennedy 5-1.
