‘Unlucky’ might just be the perfect word to sum up how 2025 has gone so far for Naomi Girma. Earlier this season, the USWNT star secured a historic move to Chelsea for a record-breaking million-dollar transfer fee. With such a high-profile signing, it was only natural for both fans and the club to expect plenty of action from the center-back. However, her WSL debut was cut short, leaving the pitch just 59 minutes into the match. Since then, Girma has remained sidelined, missing a significant stretch of games for both club and country. This ignites a pressing question of when exactly one can expect her back to action.

Fortunately, her manager Sonia Bompastor has some updates. Before the Blues’ crucial FA Women’s Cup semifinal clash against Liverpool, the French tactician addressed all of her unavailable names. For starters, forward Lauren James was ruled out of the match at Kingsmeadow on April 12. The 23-year-old sustained a hamstring blow during action for England as the Lionesses secured a thumping 5-0 Nations League win over Belgium.

While confirming the star attacker returned from the international break injured, Bompastor said, “We have already assessed her, but we need to asses her again next week to see how she is recovering. We will be going week by week but she won’t be available for the game tomorrow,” in the pre-match presser shared by Goal.

Then, the 44-year-old gave an update on the rest of the team, stating things weren’t very serious. While announcing the return of winger Guro Reiten, she added, “Maelys Mpome and Naomi Girma are close to being back in the squad.” Further giving an update on the record-fee arrival, Sonia continued, “[Girma] not for this weekend, I think it’s too soon. She is really close, though, and could be included in the squad for the Barcelona game.”

At last, we have some positive updates regarding Girma’s return. As mentioned by the former Olympique Lyonnais Féminin boss, clearly, the 24-year-old is closer than ever to making her much-anticipated return on the pitch. Though Girma missed this semifinal clash vs Liverpool, making an appearance in the final is definitely on the cards as the Blues secured a narrow 2-1 over the Reds.

With the win, they are now lined up to face Manchester United, who are rather coming off an easy 0-2 win over Man City. Interestingly, the final between Chelsea and United transpired a couple of years ago, where it was the London side that emerged victorious. For now, Chelsea is gearing up for their opening semi-final leg clash to face Barcelona in the UEFA Women’s Champion League.

Given that Bompastor hinted at the possibility of Girma being included in the squad traveling to Spain, fans can keep their fingers crossed for her much-deserved return. Then again, while her domestic comeback seems closer than ever, the real question is — when will the same be true for the USWNT?

Emma Hayes remains prepared, with or without Naomi Girma

The US Women’s National Team recently concluded their April window, facing Brazil in a couple of friendly games. While the opening game saw the American ladies secure an easy 2-0 win, the return fixture was a rather shocking 1-2 defeat. But more than the less-decisive USA, many were rather concerned about how exactly Hayes would be addressing Naomi Girma’s absence.

The answer is adding more depth to the squad. Aside from identifying the need to add more full-backs to the team, she also pointed to addressing the center-back position, especially in the absence of Girma. “Arguably, with Naomi Girma not being available, it allowed us to look at a couple of other players centrally. So I feel in the center-back position, we’ve got a real sense of the depth there,” said the 48-year-old in an interview earlier.

Looks like the absence of Girma has made Hayes even more cautious about bringing a variety of players to her team. In the meantime, the waiting game surely continues for Naomi Girma. Notably, the USWNT will now return to action in June, where they will be facing China PR. Perhaps, around that time, we may expect the former NWSL to wear her national colors.