Viduka's recovery from an achilles injury has taken months ... but he is close to a return to action.
He has been untroubled by injuries since returning to training and the former Middlesbrough striker is in line to play some part when Newcastle travel to his former club on Saturday.
Joe Kinnear: "He's not far off it, I can tell you. Obviously he hasn't had games but you might find that he's on the bench on Saturday.
"What we decided to do with Mark was to ask him to try and come back into training.
"We didn't want to hurry him up because we don't want to risk him breaking down again but if he felt like he could come back into the sessions then we were happy for him to do that.
"We didn't want to hurry him up because we don't want to risk him breaking down again but if he felt like he could come back into the sessions then we were happy for him to do that.
"It was a matter of bringing him back gradually and seeing what he could manage but he's surprised us all. He's got better and better as the days have gone on and some of the things he's been doing have been excellent.
"We'll see how he goes now but there is a chance of him being involved.
"He's a good personality and another one of the leaders that I've got in the squad.
"He's a terrific player to have back in and around the team."