SOCCEROOS skipper Lucas Neill is in doubt for the clash against New Zealand at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

Neill revealed he has not fully recovered from minor groin surgery last month. However, he was still hoping to feature in both internationals, with Australia set to meet Serbia in Melbourne 48 hours after facing the All Whites.

"I'm racing a little bit against the clock to be fit for this game," Neill said. "But we always knew it was going to be touch and go.

"I'm looking forward to playing some part in the Adelaide game and then possibly against Serbia."

With Neill confident of at least making an appearance off the bench at the oval, crowd-pleaser Brett Emerton may well skipper the side on Sunday.

And Neill's pending absence from the starting XI would put the stopper's spotlight on Adelaide United favourite Sasa Ognenovski.

The AFC Asian player of the year is set to shoulder the full responsibility of keeping the All Whites at bay, as Socceroos boss Holger Osieck aims to blood a suitable partner for the imposing defender in the heart of defence.

Despite the injury setback, Neill was confident of earning a fresh club contract in Europe, possibly in Spain or Germany, after severing ties with Turkish club Galatasaray.

The national team captain said he'll take a three-week break from the game after the two internationals, before putting on the boots for European club pre-season training.

"Who knows where Lucas Neill will end up, after my contract finished with Galatasaray," he said.

"I'll move on to a new challenge.

"There's genuine interest; and what I've said to my manager is to let me just get this eight days out of the way."

Neill said his career was far from over. He has targeted the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the home-based AFC Asian Cup a year later before signing off.

At 33, Neill has been a professional footballer since he made his debut for Millwall in 1995.

He became a household name when he joined Blackburn Rovers, captained West Ham, and was Tim Cahill's teammate at Everton before joining Galatasaray after the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

With 71 Socceroos caps to his name Neill said the prospect of playing a World Cup in football-mad Brazil was exciting.

"My body is telling me that it's got years left in it," he said.

"The challenge now is to stay fit and in good form, all the way until 2014."