By Julian Linden
OEHRINGEN, Germany, June 8 - Harry Kewell declared
himself fit and ready to play in Australia's opening World Cup
match with Japan after clearing two major hurdles.
Kewell was in danger of missing Monday's Group F match in
Kaiserslautern after injuring his groin in Liverpool's FA Cup
win over West Ham last month.
He missed Australia's victory over European champions Greece
and last weekend's draw with the Netherlands but made his
international return ahead of schedule in Wednesday's 3-1 win
over Liechtenstein.
He was substituted after 60 minutes and told by coach Guus
Hiddink that he needed to prove his fitness by completing a
two-hour training session on Thursday, but passed the test with
flying colours.
"The groin's all right," he told the assembled media.
"We all sat down and decided I was going to play 60 minutes
(against Liechtenstein) and I got through that fine.
"It was important for me to play in the game then back up
(repeat) in the training session today and that's what we did.
"We achieved that now and now we've got the game to look
forward to."
Kewell's speedy recovery is a major boost for the
Australians ahead of Monday's crucial clash with Japan.
With Brazil and Croatia also in the group, a defeat for
either Australia or Japan would significantly harm their
prospects of reaching the second round.
Hiddink said Kewell would definitely play some part against
Japan but has still not decided whether he will start or come
off the bench.
Kewell was replaced by Josh Kennedy against Liechtenstein
and the move paid off when the towering Kennedy climbed above
two defenders to score on debut, giving Hiddink the option of
employing his extra height against Japan.
Kewell said Hiddink had still not told the players what he
was planning but had warned them to expect a tough match against
the Japanese.
"They're a great team because they're at the World Cup,"
Kewell said.