After 641 days without playing and 644 days without scoring, Catalina Macario is back.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said after scoring her first goal for the club that the American forward's return was “exactly what we need in our preparations”.
The 24-year-old made her blues debut. Sunday's 4-0 win against Leicester After being sidelined for 20 months with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
Macario was injured in signed a contract with the club From Lyon in June 2023.
Hayes said: “She hasn't played in over 600 days. She came to Chelsea and has never been fit to play.”
“We had to work a lot with her off the pitch, so I'm glad she was able to get this moment, and I've put in the time for her. I am extremely proud of the team that supported the team.
“She's a super soccer player and that's what we need for the practice match. Of course she needs to be a little more match fit, but she did her part.”
Macario's return is particularly good news for Hayes, who will continue to work with the U.S. players when he takes over the national team in June.
“I love her dearly,” Hayes said. “She's a great human being and when we brought her to Chelsea we knew we had to go behind her before she could move forward. I can say to Chelsea fans: 'I'm going to make you a super player. Put””
“Hopefully she can play a big role for the rest of the season, but Chelsea, who have been around for a long time, have got a world-class forward and so have America.”
Macario injured his anterior cruciate ligament on June 1, 2022, in Lyon's final game of the 2021-22 season, which they won 4-0 against Issy.
His 78th-minute goal at the King Power Stadium was his first since May 29, when he scored the winning goal against Paris Saint-Germain.
“It was really fun to be honest,” she told Sky Sports. She said: “It felt like a dream come true to finally be back on the pitch, not only coming back from injury but also playing for Chelsea for the first time.
“Emma was really great. She was very supportive and unusually didn't put any pressure on me to come back. “No one wants to come to a club injured, but I couldn't have asked for a better manager. “I think I contributed a lot to that,” she said. “
“This is her moment.”
Just five minutes after entering, Macario produced a calm finish, hitting a powerful shot on the turn to defeat Lize Kopf, but was mopped up by her teammates in celebration.
Former Chelsea midfielder Karen Carney told Sky Sports: “I'm smiling from ear to ear, but I've never met her and I don't know her.”
“For a new player to come in and see the reaction from the rest of the team, she must be very special to that group of players in that locker room. This is her moment.”
“When you're out for that long, there are a lot of downs, but it's great to come back on the pitch and score goals. Even if it is, [to be out] I don't know what she was feeling when she stood on that pitch for that long. ”