Kevin Keegan is closely monitoring Viduka's recovery from an Achilles problem and is happy with the player's progress.

Keegan will not rush Viduka back before he is ready and if that means missing the Magpies start to the Premier League season, then so be it.

The St James's Park supremo told www.nufc.com: "We knew he wouldn't be able to train until two or three weeks into pre-season.

"Then it will be light with a view to him coming into full-time training probably in the next four to five weeks depending on how he feels when we start to push him on.

"But I think what we will get now is no more problems with the Achilles. He's working very hard on the things he can work on, which is upper body strength and his weight is fantastic.

"So once he comes back into training it will just be the football and the quickness of that he'll have to pick up on.

"He probably won't be fit for the start of the season but he'll be pretty near."

It had been feared Viduka would need an operation during the close season but club officials have their fingers crossed that rest has largely cured the problem.