MIDFIELDER Rafael van der Vaart, the only man missing from Dutch coach Marco van Basten's first-choice line-up in a 1-0 friendly win over Cameroon on Saturday, should be fit for the World Cup, his team said. Van der Vaart chose to miss the match after feeling the effects of a recent ankle injury during training in Switzerland last week. The only other injured player in the Netherlands squad is defender Kew Jaliens, who is recovering from a flesh wound in his thigh but is expected to join the team's training sessions this week. Italy left-back Gianluca Zambrotta injured his right thigh during a training match at the national team's training base at Coverciano early on Sunday, team doctors said. Zambrotta received the knock against amateur side San Giminiano and immediately left the pitch for treatment. Further tests will be made to find the exact nature of the injury. Zambrotta said: "I hope it's not too serious. I felt a lot of pain in the muscle when I straightened the leg and I hope it's an isolated problem which has nothing to do with fatigue or my physical condition. I will stay here for treatment because I really want to take part in the World Cup." For the moment there is no reason to believe Zambrotta will miss Italy's first match at the World Cup against Ghana on 12 June. Italy's other Group E matches are against United States and the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, Australia striker Harry Kewell expects to recover from his groin injury in time for the start of the World Cup. Kewell, 27, has joined up with his team-mates at their training camp in Holland after missing the 1-0 win over Greece in Melbourne last Thursday. "The injury is not ideal but I am expecting to be back and ready in time for the tournament," said Kewell. "I'm so disappointed I couldn't get back to Melbourne for the game against Greece but it was out of my control." And the Liverpool forward added: "I now have to focus on what is within my control, and that's working hard." Kewell was injured during Liverpool's win over West Ham in the FA Cup final and he is likely to miss Australia's warm-up games against Holland on 4 June and Liechtenstein on 7 June. But he should be ready for the World Cup opener against Group F rivals Japan on 12 June before the Socceroos then face Group F rivals Brazil and Croatia. Kewell added: "People might say that the Brazil game is the biggest but this is a World Cup where all three group games are important. "To me, Japan and Croatia are just as big. We need to win, or at least not lose. "It's great being in a group where all the matches have something at stake and where each team, if they have a good day, can win. "Our first aim is to beat Japan, then a result against Brazil would be good, and then beat Croatia." Michael Ballack, the Germany captain, suffered a minor ankle strain in a practice game last Thursday and was forced to miss Saturday's 7-0 win over Luxembourg in Freiburg. He had been expected back within a couple of days but he missed training again on Sunday. Centre-back Robert Huth also came out of the Luxembourg game with an ankle problem, while striker Oliver Neuville has a less serious thigh strain. Philipp Lahm, first-choice left-back for the World Cup hosts, has yet to recover fully from the elbow injury he suffered on 16 May. "The scan on Huth's ankle revealed nothing dramatic," assistant coach Joachim Low said. "Thankfully there's no tear but again, it's too early to tell whether he can play." Neuville's thigh injury was "no real problem", according to Low. Ballack will join Chelsea after the World Cup, following his move on a free transfer from Bayern Munich. The injury news dampened the mood at the German camp following their enjoyable victory over Luxembourg. Beckham in place ENGLAND coach Sven-Goran Eriksson says David Beckham will retain his place in the World Cup ahead of winger Aaron Lennon, who impressed against Belarus. When asked who should play on the right Eriksson said: "Are you saying I should play Lennon instead of Beckham? "Lennon does his damage on the right but Beckham also does his damage on the right. How many crosses does he put in? "I think everybody agrees with the starting 11. I know the team and you would pick the same team." England play their opening World Cup against Paraguay on 10 June. Eriksson, who has never substituted or dropped Beckham, has said he will start both games with the team he expects to use in the World Cup opener against Paraguay. "If Beckham is fit, if Frank Lampard is fit, if Steven Gerrard is fit and if Joe Cole is fit, they should start," added Eriksson. "The fact is that all four midfielders are in great form and they are all in excellent condition. "It's not like before Japan when Beckham was 70 per cent, half-injured. They are all 100 per cent fit. They all did the fitness tests and were much better than two years ago and there was a huge difference to four years ago." Despite the question marks over Beckham's fitness four years ago, Eriksson insisted he was right to play the midfielder in the 2002 World Cup. "In Japan, Beckham deserved to play even though he was not 100 per cent. "We did not have Lennon in Japan. I am sure Lennon could play as a second striker in the last 20 minutes. He would come on, take the ball and run."
