Sam Kerr has been left out of Chelsea's glamour Women's Champions League clash against Barcelona, just three days after her club manager said she was likely to play.
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor reported on Wednesday that the 32-year-old Matildas captain would not be in the squad because it was part of her planned rehabilitation following her long-term anterior cruciate ligament injury.
But that news came as a surprise because at the weekend when Kerr was also left out of Chelsea's Women's Super League squad for the match against Liverpool, the Frenchwoman had also said: "She's fine, and she will probably be involved in the game against Barcelona on Thursday."
Kerr had played her first full 90 minutes for Chelsea in last week's European tie in Austria against St Polten, where she scored twice - but a week on, the medical staff evidently feel it's still too much for her to feature against one of the continent's finest sides.
Kerr, though, should be okay to travel to Australia for her link-up with the Matildas, who will play two internationals against New Zealand on November 28 and December 2.Â
Bompastor told a news conference on Wednesday: "Sam is fine, she will probably be going with the national team next week, but she's not available for us again.
"It's just a case of managing her comeback. She got 90 minutes against St Polten and it was part of the plan for her to rest a little bit after that and not be involved in the following two games."
Earlier this week, Matildas boss Joe Montemurro had told reporters: "Sam's doing really well, and she got 90 minutes during the week in the Champions League last week, obviously scoring goals, and that's where we want Sam to be.Â
"But she still needs to be managed, and we've been in close contact with Chelsea in terms of managing the minutes."
