Sam Kerr breaks her silence on horror ACL injury as her dad makes a prediction

Matildas captain Sam Kerr has broken her silence after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament - and her father Roger revealed how much longer he expects the 30-year-old to keep playing professional football.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, the superstar striker praised her Chelsea teammate Millie Bright for being a 'nurse queen' as she comes to terms with her knee injury, which could see Kerr sidelined for at least 12 months.

'Don't know what I would have done without my Millie B last few days,' Kerr captioned a photograph. 'Been an absolute nurse queen.'

Kerr, 30, will miss the Paris Olympics in July following the injury sustained at a Chelsea training camp in Morocco - and her father Roger Kerr spoke for many football supporters when he said it was 'sad news.'

'It was pretty disappointing, upsetting, so we [have] had a couple of restless nights,' he told Seven News.

'I think she's a bit numb. It's coming up to the Olympics and Olympic qualifiers in February.

'She had a sort of injured World Cup and now we were all looking forward and Australia was looking forward to the Olympics....it's sad news.'

Mr Kerr added an ACL injury usually requires '12 months to get right', so 'hopefully in 2025 she can return to the pitch.'

He then pointed to her significant workload, which sees her play more than 50 games a year - for Chelsea and Australia.

As a unit, the Matildas need to quickly regroup - they face Uzbekistan over a two-legged play-off in February in a bid to qualify for the Olympics.

Kerr, who has often referenced how Cathy Freeman's 2000 Olympic gold medal inspired her as a youngster, featured at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.

The goal poacher was a key figure as Australia won plenty of admirers after finishing fourth.

Her father anticipates she will target the next World Cup and possibly the 2028 Olympics before she hangs up her boots.