Cahill fighting fit to kick off next five years

Jun 30 2007 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

TIM CAHILL is set to be back to full fitness to kick off the next phase of his Everton career.

Cahill and Mikel Arteta both agreed new five-year contracts yesterday, with the midfield duo believed to now be on parity with the club’s top earners.

While Arteta prepares to return for pre-season training at Bellefield on Monday, Australian Cahill is preparing for the Asian Cup following four months out with a broken metatarsal.

His national coach Graham Arnold wants him to be fit for the opening game on July 8 against Oman and Everton physio Mick Rathbone is pleased with the player’s recovery.

“He is in very good condition” Rathbone said. “I went across at the end of May and did two running days with him, he also had the latest x-ray and there were no symptoms there.

“We left him with a light programme to do then I met him last week in Singapore and we pushed on to the next level, which was twisting and turning.

“He was training at 80% and had no symptoms. The x-rays looked fantastic and he was fine.”

Arnold has agreed to leave Cahill out of today’s warm-up game with Singapore and Rathbone added: “We have to have a good relationship with all the national teams.

“The nature of football is that players play for their clubs, and in the summer they play for their countries.

“We are all working for the good of the player, so we have to work well together.”

Extending the existing contracts of Cahill and Arteta by another two years is one piece of business manager David Moyes had been hoping to complete this summer.

Constant speculation from Spain linking Arteta with a move back to his homeland often reared its head last season while both he and Cahill were linked with West Ham earlier in the summer.

But Moyes paid tribute to the way Arteta, who has won the Player of the Year award for the past two seasons, has made the £2million Everton paid in 2005 look like a snip.

Moyes said: “We like his skills and ability but he has grown into the team ethic that we have here and I think that has been the reason he has done so well.”

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright is also delighted to have concluded the negotiations.

He said: “David Moyes and myself were keen to get these important extensions wrapped up before the new season opens.

“We did it in the Everton way – quietly, efficiently and away from the glare of the spotlight.

“Negotiations have been ongoing for several weeks and have now been satisfactorily concluded and I know the two lads are as happy as we are.”