Kewell was hurt during Saturday morning's shock 1-0 loss to Oman, replaced in the 54th minute by Robbie Kruse.

The Melbourne Victory star was found to have aggravated a muscle strain and coach Holger Osieck and medical staff agreed to let the 33-year-old return home for treatment.

The extent of the injury is unclear at this stage.

Australia need just a point from their remaining two matches to book their place in the next round of qualifying.