The Blues head coach hinted after our final pre-season fixture that Kerr could be involved in our WSL opener against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Friday night – but Bompastor did not go as far as to confirm the Australia international's involvement.

Kerr has been ruled out since January 2024, and naturally, excitement has grown as she has inched toward a return to action. Yet Bompastor was keen to manage expectations of those itching to see the striker back in action and scoring goals.

'Sam is doing well,' said Bompastor. 'She played some minutes in pre-season games but cannot expect Sam –having not played for 15 or 16 months –to be immediately ready and at her best level. We need to be patient, even if you and I want to have Sam back because she's a wonderful player and we love watching her on the pitch.

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'We need to be a bit patient with the history she's had, but she's in a good place and I'm really pleased with her performances. She’s strong mentally, and is not too far away. If you are talking about having her back to her best, maybe you need to be patient, like I just said.'

A 4-1 win over AC Milan at Kingsmeadow rounded off the Blues' pre-season campaign. It was a day with many positives, including a hat-trick from Aggie Beever-Jones. However, Mayra Ramirez had to be replaced by Chloe Sarwie after 34 minutes due to injury.

Bompastor also took the time to explain why there were several absentees from the squad.

'Mayra felt something behind the knee, but it’s too early to tell what the problem is, and she will need to be assessed,' she continued. 'It’s hopefully not too bad. She was fine after the game, so we’ll see.

'It was part of the plan to rest some players; some of them had a training session because we felt it was more appropriate for them. I had basically had all the players that were available for the game today, and it was a good opportunity to give some minutes to some youngsters.'

The Blues head coach also reflected on her trophy-laden first season in charge, while also stressing the importance of starting afresh in the current campaign.

We begin the season with a mouthwatering clash against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Friday evening, and Bompastor is keen to preserve the side's elite mentality going into that clash.

'Last season was good because we always found a way to win the games,' she continued. 'We stayed unbeaten in the domestic competitions, which was fabulous and maybe will never happen again.

'That’s in the past, and now we are focusing on the new season. We need to make sure that going into the new season, we keep the same mentality in terms of winning games.

'It’s my second year with the players, and I want to ensure we can improve our performances both in position and out of possession.

'In my second pre-season, I feel like we can work even more on the details of the game model every day, and if you have better performances, you have more chances to win the games. This is what we need to improve on, and what we're going to improve on.'

Six of our players won the Women's European Championship with England, and there will be a celebration of that triumph when the trophy is paraded in front of fans at Stamford Bridge on Friday.

Bompastor confirmed that, unfortunately, Lucy Bronze and Lauren James will miss the match against Man City with injury, but did have some positive news about the duo.

'They are doing great,' she said. 'Mentally, they are in a good place. Obviously, they just came back from the Euros with big injuries, which is not great for us because now they are not in a place where they can start the season.

'It’s difficult for players when they represent their national team and as a club player involved in every competition, and to stay fit. That's the challenge.

'But for us here, I'm glad England won the tournament, and our players were key to that. Now we need to deal with the situation and get them back as soon as possible. We will make sure, as a staff, that we contribute to them getting back as soon as possible.'

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