The Australia international has succumbed to the injury on three separate occasions during the past 14 months to limit his appearances for club and country.

On each occasion the 28-year-old has suffered damage to the same area, the fifth metatarsal in his left foot.

He is expected to undergo surgery in the next 10 days with a view to being fully fit for the start of the next Barclays Premier League season.

"The aim is to fix the problem for good," Cahill told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

"I've missed a lot of football and I'm determined to do whatever it takes to prevent another recurrence.

"My aim is to be back fitter and stronger for next season, and I have no doubt I'll achieve that.

"I've missed a lot of football in recent times and it's frustrating. But I know I'll get back to where I want to be."

Cahill contribution with Everton has been restricted to 49 appearances in the past two seasons, while he has also missed large chunks of the Socceroos' calendar.

He originally suffered the injury against Sheffield United in March 2007 and while he returned to play in the Socceroos' first Asian Cup campaign last summer, he was again felled by the injury during a pre-season match against Werder Bremen in August.

The midfielder missed the opening three months of the current season, returning in March to score 11 goals and propel the Toffees towards a Champions League place.

However, the injury returned against West Ham last month and in his absence Everton have been eliminated from the UEFA Cup, while their hopes of claiming a Champions League place have evaporated.

They currently trail fourth-placed Liverpool by eight points with just three games remaining.

Cahill was accompanied to his homeland by Everton physiotherapist Matthew Connery where they are to meet highly regarded foot surgeon Kim Slater, who also treated fellow Socceroo Harry Kewell last year.

He will then undergo the majority of a 12-week rehabilitation program in Australia under the guidance of Socceroos physiotherapist Phil Coles.

Coles said he was optimistic of Cahill making a full recovery in time for the new season, although he will definitely miss the Socceroos' four World Cup qualifiers in June and July.

"It can be a complicated problem. It's a fracture that's traditionally a very poor healer and there can be several complications," he told The Australian.

"The area gets loaded a lot when you are running, and it's an injury that needs to be treated with a lot of respect.

"That said, there's no reason why Tim shouldn't make a complete recovery.

"There are a number of different types of surgery a player can undergo and that's something which will need to be decided when he gets here."