It seems that Australia and Liverpool's Harry Kewell missed yesterday's crucial World Cup match against Italy because he was suffering from gout.


I don't know about you, but I've always thought that the 'Disease of Kings' was caused by high-living - plenty of port, brandy and the like. So either Harry's the Winston Churchill of the Premiership or there's some other reason.


So I've done about 10 minutes of research:


What is Gout?
A result of a defect in body chemistry (such as uric acid in the joint fluid), this painful condition most often attacks small joints, especially the big toe. It can usually be controlled with medication and changes in diet. [Beaumont Hospital]


It can be hereditary, and it can be aggravated by obesity, high alcohol intake and foods such as offal, red meat and shellfish.

Untreated, it usually subsides in a week or so.


When asked why Kewell had arrived at the game on crutches, Aussie Captain Mark Viduka said:

"Nobody knows yet? Maybe it's not up to me to say, then."
Asked when the team knew Kewell would not be playing, he replied: "I think today. I don't know. I'm not sure." He then asked an Australia team official: "Am I allowed to tell them what it is?"
Reporters who had an inkling of the problem asked him directly if it was gout, and he said: "Yeah, it was that.
"People say it's a 24 or 48-hour thing.
"Harry woke up this morning but he was still struggling."

So there it is, the biggest game of your International Career - a game, that, having gone the way it did, he could have directly affected the outcome - and you're taken out like a Victorian Lord - tough break for Harry.


All the best, mate. Enjoy your summer and come back to Anfied fit and ready.