A report from Australia suggests Mark Viduka could be in need of a long holiday when he returns from the Far East ... and that must worry Sam Allardyce as he plans for the opening day of the Premiership season.
Report prior to Viduka playing against Iraq:
Viduka Fitness Concern
By Nu Mad
Updated Friday, 13th July 2007
The man who knows exactly how many kilos Mark Viduka will shed tonight and how much Harry Kewell will perspire has warned Socceroos fans not to expect a "brilliant performance" against Iraq.
Socceroos team doctor Peter Brukner said the players would not even be at their best for the Asian Cup final on July 29 -- if they make it that far. Brukner said it was unrealistic to expect the players to be firing after a two-week pre-season.
"We were never going to play well in the first game and we're not going to play brilliantly (tonight) either I don't think. It's a gradual process," he said.
"The way they cope with heat and general skill level will be better, but we won't suddenly be at World Cup standard. It won't be 90 minutes of hard running and flowing football."
Brukner estimates the players' fitness levels are around 75 per cent, with the view of reaching 90 per cent by the cup final.
He said the medical team, which weighs players five times a day, expected players to lose 3-4kg tonight, as they did against Oman.
"A bigger problem is they (Socceroos) just haven't played enough football," Brukner said.
"OK, we weren't super-fit but I think too much has been made of the fact we weren't acclimatised or not hydrated well enough.
"The biggest issue for me was our skills. We kept giving the ball away. They're just rusty and as an AFL person I liken it to the first round of the NAB (pre-season) Cup.
"Kewell hadn't played a full game for 11 months, Tim Cahill hadn't played at all for four months and the other guys hadn't played for 6-8 weeks apart from the Singapore game.
"While it's not excusing a fairly ordinary performance, there are probably some pretty good reasons (for the 1-1 Oman draw).
"There were time limitations which are beyond their control. They had to have a break; they hadn't had a break for three years."
The players have been divided into three groups and the medical staff has ice vests and extra fluids for the "category one" profuse sweaters.
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