HARRY Kewell will hit the ground running next week when he arrives to join his Melbourne Victory teammates for pre-season training.

Despite not playing since May, when his contract ended with Turkish club Galatasaray, Kewell has been following a stringent fitness program designed by Victory strength and conditioning coach Adam Basil.

While Kewell has been on the training program for just two weeks since signing with Victory, it is expected he will quickly make up ground on his teammates and be ready for the October 8 A-League kick off.

"Our boys are into their ninth week of pre-season with about five or six weeks to go," Basil said. "So his training is programmed around what our boys are doing, but at a lower intensity.

"Harry's been training for a good couple of weeks and working up to a stage so that when he does come he'll join in with the rest of the group. It's also a matter of looking after his body so when he gets here he can fit in with the group."

Under the long-distance guidance of Basil, who represented Australia as a sprinter, Kewell, 32, is mainly doing interval work with short recoveries to work on heart and lungs, and weights.

If Kewell, overlooked for recent Socceroos squads because of fitness concerns, does two sessions a day, the fitness work is usually followed by a less stressful regimen of swimming, stationary cycling or stretching.

"The whole program is complementary and replicates the style of running he would do in a game," Basil said. "We're taking the approach that we don't want to overload him and we can get him a good base fitness."

The tyranny of distance, with Kewell in England and Basil in Melbourne, makes it difficult for Basil to oversee Kewell's program with the same keen eye he takes to Victory training every day.

Texts and emails from Kewell keep Basil informed on the veteran's progress.

Originally published as Kewell is going the distance