Cahill boost for Australia

Australian midfielder Tim Cahill, seen here in September 2005, has completed a first full training session since he badly injured his right knee on April 22.

Australian midfielder Tim Cahill has completed a first full training session since he badly injured his right knee on April 22.

The 26-year-old Everton player looked sharp as he took part in a tough workout watched by Australia coach Guus Hiddink and his assistant Johan Neeskens, the FIFA World Cup website reported.

"I'm not going to count my chickens, and it's still a race against time to get fully fit, but it is good to be back," said Cahill. "It has been five and a half weeks post-injury, so I'm feeling good.

"There's still a chance that it might recur - so I have to take it easy and see how it goes.I need a week to really get a feel for how it is going."

Cahill picked up the injury playing for Everton against Birmingham in the English Premiership on April 22.

The Australians are currently in the town of Mierlo in the Netherlands preparing for the World Cup and have a friendly against the Dutch on Sunday.

They open their World Cup campaign going up against Japan at Kaiserslautern on June 12.