Mark Viduka, the Newcastle United forward, will have an operation on his Achilles tendon in the summer, forcing him to miss is set to Australia's World Cup qualifiers.

The 32-year-old, who has played an increasingly important role under Kevin Keegan, has been playing with an injury for the past month and it will now require surgery at the end of the campaign.

He is expected to be available for the club's final two Barclays Premier League fixtures, against Chelsea on Monday and Everton on the final day of the season. However, Pim Verbeek, the Australia coach, has resigned himself to being without Viduka for the two qualifiers against Iraq as well as the matches with Qatar and China in June as they attempt to secure their place in the 2010 finals in South Africa.

"Nobody can do the same as Mark Viduka," Verbeek said. "I have seen enough games in England and Europe - he is special. You don't see players like him very often. He is so important for the team he is playing at. We don't have players like that. With all respect for Scott (McDonald), Josh (Kennedy), Archie Thompson and John Aloisi, if we can use him, we will use him; if he is ready, he will come. We have some players who can do a great job also, but if we get a chance to use Mark, we will do it."

He added: "He has a contract (with Newcastle) until 2010 and he said he wants to finish with the World Cup, there's no doubt about that. He was very positive about it and he said, 'I'm always available'. He said, 'Whenever you need me and I am fit, I will always come over'."