New worries for Australia 2010 World Cup bid

May 3, 2008

Australia have been hit by fresh injury problems ahead of a crunch batch of FIFA 2010 World Cup Qualifying fixtures in June. Manager Pim Verbeek was already without key men Mark Viduka and Tim Cahill but has now been hit by further concerns over a number of players.

West Ham United defender Lucas Neill and German-based forward Josh Kennedy’s wifes are both due to give birth next month, casting doubts over their availability for the Socceroos. Verbeek said two other players - Derby County winger Mile Sterjovski and midfielder Jacob Burns - are in the same situation.

“They all are expecting babies with their partners during June, so I won’t know for certain when they will able to play,” Verbeek told a teleconference from The Netherlands on Thursday.

Australia take on Ghana in Sydney on 23rd May, their final warmup before they reach make or break time in their bid to reach the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa, with four games during June.

These include a double header with Iraq before a trip to Qatar and a home game with China.

Verbeek confirmed that Newcastle United striker Mark Viduka will not feature in any of those games as he is still struggling with an Achilles problem.

“Viduka is positive about playing in the World Cup and has a club contract running through until 2010, but he has been struggling with an Achilles problem and it’s not getting any better,” Verbeek said. “Viduka won’t be selected for the World Cup qualifiers next month as he considers whether to have end-of-season surgery.”

Everton star Tim Cahill will also be unavailable as he is currently undergoing surgery for his broken metatarsal. He is expected to be fit for the start of the 2008-09 Premiership season but will miss Australia’s qualifying bid.

In better news for Australia, Liverpool winger Harry Kewell and Middlesborough keeper Mark Schwarzer have declared themselves fit.

“The question with the European-based players is how fit they will be after their club commitments are completed later this month,” Verbeek said. “If everybody is fit I will have no problems at all, but I’ll just have to wait until the final games of the Euro leagues to be sure.”

Australia’s next FIFA World Cup qualifier will be against AFC Asian Cup champions Iraq in Brisbane on 1 June.

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