The Blues boss prefers to be patient with young players, but it's time to give the American striker her chance to shine

The world of women's football stood still when Chelsea announced that Sam Kerr had ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament on January 7. The shattering news caused ruptures across the global game, once again sharply bringing the need for fresh approaches to injury prevention into focus.

While most people's first thoughts were of the mental impact the devastating blow would have on Kerr – especially during an Olympic year – once the dust had settled, attentions soon turned towards what it meant for Chelsea, the Women's Super League and world football in general.

Since the injury was confirmed, Emma Hayes – who has likely selected Kerr for the final time ahead of her exit for the U.S. women's national team this summer – has been constantly quizzed on how she plans to replace the world-class Australian.

On Sunday, we got our first clue as to her intentions for the rest of the season when Chelsea hosted West Ham in the Women's FA Cup. The fact that after the game Hayes bluntly responded to a question on potential January reinforcements with: "I don’t think anyone can replace Sam Kerr – no one in the world," gives an indication of how unconvincing the Blues looked without their main woman.

GettyMore questions than answers

Although Chelsea would end up winning the cup tie, their performance was stodgy at best. For starters, they required extra-time to triumph against a team who have managed just one WSL victory all season and are averaging under a goal a game.

Viviane Asseyi opened the scoring in the first half, catching Zecira Musovic off guard with a snapshot from outside the box after the rusty Kadeisha Buchanan failed to deal with a straight ball over the top from Mackenzie Arnold. It wasn't just at the back that Hayes' side struggled, either.

Starting with Lauren James at centre-forward, with Fran Kirby just behind and Guro Reiten and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd out wide, the Blues could not get their attack clicking in the first hour. After the game, Hayes put this down to a lack of match sharpness, with Chelsea's previous game coming all the way back on December 20 against Hacken in the Champions League. "Not playing is the biggest factor. You’re rusty, you’ve got to build the combinations, the relationships," she said.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesFishel the only real spark

One of the only bright spots in Chelsea's clunky offensive display was Mia Fishel. Introduced in the 59th minute as a bonafide No.9, it did not take her long to make a game-changing impact. With Chelsea seemingly heading for a shocking, early FA Cup exit, she brought Rytting Kaneryd's knock down under her spell in the box before unleashing a swivelled half-volley which flew past Mackenzie Arnold and into the roof of the net.

It was a predatory strike, straight out of Kerr's playbook, and it provided Chelsea with the impetus to go on and win the game in extra-time. First, Cuthbert nodded home Rytting Kaneryd's typically pinpoint cross, before substitute Aggie Beever-Jones did what she does best, coming off the bench to score the dagger seconds before the interval.

After the game, Hayes revealed her delight at the American's contribution from the bench: "Mia Fishel came in and took her wonderful goal. That will do wonders for her."

GettyBig Fish finally has lift off!

Fishel's strike was only her second since joining from Mexican side Tigres this summer. All things considered, she's enjoyed a promising but perhaps slightly underwhelming start to life at Chelsea. The early signs were certainly encouraging, though.

In a similar script to the West Ham game, Fishel scored an important goal which helped mask a less-than-stellar performance against Tottenham on the opening day of the WSL season. Rising high to meet Niamh Charles' cross in the first half, the 22-year-old placed a perfect header into the far corner.

With Kerr ruled out of that game with injury, Fishel played the full 90 minutes and was impressive, showcasing some nifty link-up play and pressing from the front as Chelsea eventually secured a 2-1 victory. However, at full-time, Hayes was quick to point out that there was still a long way for her to go before she would be trusted as a regular starter.

"There's other steps for her to take. Her link-up and hold-up play is really good, but sometimes I want a second movement from her. Physically she still has to develop to be able to that," she said.

And these comments would prove to be prophetic. In the weeks and months that followed, Fishel has found first-team starts very hard to come by, racking up just 321 minutes in all competitions prior to the West Ham game. In some ways, this is completely understandable. When handed a start in a 6-0 victory over Aston Villa at the beginning of November, she failed to make the net bulge – something she really could have done with if she was to have any chance of seriously pushing Kerr for a spot in the starting XI.

And as a result of her being restricted to an impact role off the bench, she has struggled to find her goalscoring rhythm, something that has similarly plagued the Australian's other Chelsea understudies – such as Ramona Bachmann and Beth England – in recent years.

Getty/GOALBest like-for-like Kerr replacement

But that could all be set to change. With the James No.9 experiment faltering badly against West Ham, Hayes will surely be convinced to hand Fishel a place in the starting XI for the foreseeable future.

It's not how the Blues boss normally does it. Generally, new signings are introduced to the team gradually, with Hayes placing extreme importance on the squad understanding the various combinations and partnerships of her system, especially when it comes to young players.

It takes an extremely precocious talent to fast-track their way into the starting XI, with German sensation Sjoeke Nusken a rare, recent exception. Now, Fishel may also see her minutes increase. She is the closest like-for-like replacement for Kerr in the current Chelsea squad and that will not change before the end of the month, with Hayes ruling out January transfer activity in response to the injury.

"The club always have long-term recruitment plans in place and that is what we will always do. We’re never reactive," she told reporters on Sunday.