I’m leaving:Emma Hayes decided to leave the club, just now.
Macario was injured when she signed for the club from Lyon in June 2023.
“She hasn’t played for more than 600 days. She came to Chelsea and wasn’t in a fit state to play until now,” said Hayes.
“We’ve had to do a lot of work with her off the pitch so for her to get this moment I’m so immensely proud of her and the team behind the team who have put the hours into her.
“She’s a super footballer and just what we need coming into the run-in. Of course she has to get a bit more match fit but she played her part.”
Macario’s return is especially good news for Hayes, who will continue to work with the United States international when she takes over the national team in June.
“I love her to bits,” Hayes said. “She’s a great human and I knew bringing her to Chelsea we would have to go backwards before we went forward. I can tell the Chelsea fans this: ‘I’m leaving you a super player’.
Macario suffered her ACL injury in Lyon’s final game of the 2021-22 campaign, a 4-0 win over Issy on June 1, 2022.
Her 78th-minute goal at King Power Stadium was her first since scoring the winner against Paris St-Germain on 29 May.
“That was really fun honestly,” she told Sky Sports. “Finally I’m able to be back on the pitch and it just felt like a dream come true, not only to be back from injury but to play for Chelsea for the first time.
“Emma has been tremendous. She has been so supportive, not pressuring me to come back which is rare. No one wants to come into a club being injured but I couldn’t have asked for a better manager. I attribute that a lot to her.”
