The injury-plagued winger is one of the vital ingredients missing from the Australian side after not playing a single game for his Premiership club this season.

Kewell appeared to be on the road back to full fitness following a whole year out last season in the wake of Australia’s World Cup campaign, when he turned up on crutches for the vital Italy game.

It was originally believed he had gout but that was later rediagnosed as being septic arthritis. He underwent treatment for that and a series of operations in Sydney for his recurring groin and joint injuries.

He missed almost all of Liverpool’s entire season last year but eased himself back to fitness with appearances in the reserves. Coach Rafa Benitez insisted he would not start him until he had reach “Olympic” standards of fitness.

He recovered just in time for Australia’s disappointing Asian Cup campaign but failed to show his usual brilliance.

But when he returned to his club after the Socceroo’s dismal exit from the competition, he injured himself yet again in pre-season training with another groin strain.

Just before his latest injury, Kewell admitted he thought his career may have been drawing to an end.

"Thoughts like that did creep into my mind,” he told his club’s website.

"There were fleeting thoughts. You get over one injury and then another one appears and all of a sudden you're wound up in one big mess and you think, am I ever going to be the same?"

Since then Benitez has introduced Dutch wonderkid Ryan Babel into the squad as a potential Kewell replacement down the left flank.

Harry was linked with a move to Spanish Segunda Division club Real Sociedad last month by newspapers in England but last week the Kewell camp scoffed at the suggestion.

And today Sociedad manager Chris Coleman – former Fulham coach – admitted he couldn’t afford to take the Socceroo to Europe.

In his column for the UK’s Daily Mail, he admitted: “Last week we were linked with signing Harry Kewell from Liverpool, but have you seen my budget here? We have filled the left-sided position with the signing of David Vaughan from Crewe.”

Now Harry is battling once again for fitness and a place in a Liverpool first team which has been enjoying a successful start to the season thanks to new imports like Babel, Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin, even with skipper Steven Gerrard under an injury cloud.

His outing against Crewe Alexandra tomorrow night on a muddy playing field in the north of England is his latest step on yet another comeback trail.

Instead of Carlos Tevez, Javier Saviola and Lionel Messi at the MCG in front of up to 80,000, he’ll be facing the stars of Crewe reserves like Stuart Tomlinson, Mark Carrington and Tom Pope in front of two men and their dog.

"I've just got to roll with it. I've got to take my time and make my way into the game,” Kewell said during the close season. “I haven't been out for this long and I'm looking forward to it.

"I've been off for 12 months now and you almost claim that as a little retirement. It's rested my body, mentally and physically.

"Obviously with the injuries I was still working but to just step back and watch games was good for me, to step back and relax a little bit.

"But I'm ready now for the new challenge."