 MARK Viduka will return to Tyneside on Friday with some good news for Newcastle United. The 33-year-old Australian has been back in his homeland to see a specialist about the Achilles injury which has troubled him throughout 2008. The prognosis on the former Leeds United and Celtic forward was an encouraging one, with Viduka told he will not need surgery on his heel. That was expected to be the outcome of his trip but Viduka – who is described as being “virtually pain-free” – has been told instead to focus on strengthening the tendon. Magpies physio James Murphy, who accompanied Viduka on the trip, told an Australian newspaper: “Surgery is not considered necessary.” No comeback date has been named for Viduka, but the optimistic assessment suggests he may return ahead of the six months interim manager Joe Kinnear predicted for his recovery last week. Viduka has not played for his club since the end of last season and his injury problems were a constant frustration to Kevin Keegan during his brief second spell as manager. Along with the enduring frailty of his body, Viduka’s international commitments have also caused angst to many a club manager. Given that he plays for a country on the other side of the globe, and who play World Cup qualifying matches against some extremely weak opponents, many would have preferred him to retire from the international game but Viduka is adamant he will represent the Socceroos again – though he will not jeopardise his United career to do so. “Of course I want to play for Australia again – it’s something that’s never out of my mind,” he said. “But it’s a step-by-step process and the first stage is to get back playing for my club again. I don’t want to rush anything. I’ve got to be 100% fit and 100% sure in my mind that my heel is strong enough. “When that happens I’ll be back for Australia. I’ve always loved playing for my country.” The striker underlined his commitment to the national cause by making a point of visiting the team’s hotel to wish them good luck in this week’s World Cup qualifier against Qatar. At club level, Viduka’s goals-per-game ratio is one in every four but he has been hampered by a lack of regular football since joining from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2007. Since then he has started just 21 matches, coming off the bench for a further seven. Meanwhile, Shay Given has thrown his support behind Kinnear after a promising start to his temporary reign. Although he kept his counsel in public, there were times particularly in the weeks after Keegan’s departure when Given cut an increasingly frustrated figure on Tyneside. That, and the 32-year-old’s seniority at St James’s Park makes his endorsement of Kinnear all the more significant. “He can be judged on the Everton game (officially his first in charge) and we got a point,” Given said. “It’s a turbulent time at the club and Joe is only in for a couple of months, so he wants to get as many points and results as possible and we’ve got to give him credit for coming up to the club when it’s in a bit of turmoil to try to get us moving back up the league.” To date, though, Kinnear’s most memorable contribution to the Newcastle cause was his vitriolic rant against elements of the national Press pack in his first week. “Yeah, it was an interesting interview he did!” Given joked. “He got some things off his chest. “I think Joe was obviously disappointed and angry with some of the stuff that was written about him because he didn’t take charge of the game and he was kind of hammered from pillar to post and he needed to get a few things off his chest. “He certainly did that, I suppose.” | 
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