Kewell eased into camp

19/05/2010 7:49 PM
Bren O'Brien
Sportal

Socceroos star Harry Kewell was restricted to light training duties as Australia's training camp ahead of the World Cup officially got underway at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Wednesday night.

About 2000 fans turned out to watch Australia's first official training session of its pre-tournament camp. Kewell, who is still recovering from a groin injury, only did light sprints down the touchline under the watchful eyes of Australia's medical team. He left the ground after about 40 minutes.

Coach Pim Verbeek has already ruled Kewell out of next Monday's friendly against New Zealand at the MCG, with plans to have the Galatasaray attacker fully fit for the opening game of the tournament against Germany in Durban on June 13.

While Kewell's first training session yielded little information on his fitness, Verbeek would have been pleased that Richard Garcia, Mark Bresciano and Vince Grella took part in a full session.

All three players have missed considerable time for their clubs in the lead-up with injuries, but trained without obviously discomfort and all three should come into consideration for the clash against the All Whites.

Jason Culina may have not played a competitive game since February, but looked fit and well thanks to a two-month training stint in Holland, while any concerns over Craig Moore's condition after his early exit from his Greek club seem unfounded with the veteran defender also training strongly.

Several senior players, including Brett Emerton, Scott Chipperfield and Josh Kennedy, only took part in light skills and stretching away from the main group, but that is a much to do with fatigue management as it is any injury concerns.

The Socceroos will train twice a day until Monday, while their preparations will ramp up considerably after the leave for South Africa next Wednesday.

http://sportal.com.au/football-news-display/kewell-eased-into-camp-91570