It was in January 2024, during a winter training camp in Morocco, that Kerr sustained a knee injury that required surgery. The road back from that point has been arduous and challenging.

Yet having undertaken a full pre-season with the Blues, the Australian was ready to make her comeback in our season opener. Kerr was named as a substitute against Manchester City, but was not utilised by Sonia Bompastor in our 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.

The 31-year-old was again named in the match-day squad for today's trip to Villa Park and, with 15 minutes to play, was introduced from the bench.

Kerr replaced Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and was welcomed onto the Villa Park pitch with a roar from the visiting Chelsea supporters.

The appearance was Kerr's first since she scored for the Blues in a Champions League victory over BK Hacken in December 2023. That goal was her 99th for Chelsea. The wait to reach 100 has been long, but, naturally, Kerr marked her return by reaching the landmark.

It wasn't her best goal in Blue, but it demonstrated the ruthless instinct of a top-level striker.

As Aston Villa struggled to clear a corner, Kerr was in the right place to finish beyond Ellie Roebuck to ensure a 3-1 victory for Chelsea, which made it back-to-back wins for the Blues at the start of the Women's Super League season.