au.fourfourtwo.com understands that the 29-year-old Socceroo talisman will fly home today or tomorrow after just a couple of days' treatment by guru physio Les Gelis.

Kewell flew home from China before the rest of the squad after he was a late withdrawal from the World Cup qualifying squad for Wednesday's clash with the Chinese.

But the injury has proved not to be as serious as first thought.

Kewell's slight groin strain was picked up the previous Saturday night on the sodden surface of Singapore during Australia's 0-0 draw lead up game with Singapore.

Kewell was taken off after 45 minutes of that encounter and did not recover sufficiently during the trip to Kunming.

Despite the injury being relatively minor, it won't help the player's chances of proving himself to club manager Rafael Benitez ahead of his contract expiration at Anfield this European summer.

Speculation has linked the star with a possible move to Celtic next season to join forces with Socceroo Scott McDonald and possibly Mark Schwarzer who has also been tipped for a move to the Scottish Premier League side.