Australia's injury-prone playmaker Harry Kewell is battling to secure a place in his country's World Cup squad, but believes he has overcome the worst of a groin strain that has sidelined him for three months, reports The Guardian. The former Liverpool winger, who has not played since December, expects to return for his club Galatasaray this weekend but has only four games in which to prove his fitness before the end of the league season.

"This injury has come at a bad time for me so I've got to work hard to try to secure myself," Kewell, who underwent surgery on the groin this year, told Australian television. "Basically I've got one of the biggest tournaments coming up now. It's a chance for me to show this club what I'm capable of doing.

"I feel like I can do that. I just needed a little rest to get my body back into shape and now it's back into shape and it's nearly there, so I'm really looking forward to this World Cup."

The 31-year-old Kewell said he believes his best is ahead of him.

"Obviously as a youngster I did well enough to achieve certain things, but I still feel like I've got more in me to produce better football now than what I did when I was younger," he said. "So hopefully the good achievements haven't even started with me yet."