Ever the quiet achiever, Luke Wilkshire will some time this week slip unnoticed back into the Socceroos' starting 11 and stay there ahead of their World Cup opener against Germany.

As the Socceroos' injured stars like Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton have their progress dissected in detail, Wilkshire is back on track and in full training after being rested for last week's 2-1 win over New Zealand.

The 28-year-old had stitches removed from his forehead following successful skin cancer surgery and could be fast-tracked into the starting side to play Denmark in Roodepoort on Tuesday.

If not, he is certain to be among the first picked for Saturday's final pre-World Cup friendly against the United States before keeping his place to take on Germany on June 13.

Wilkshire has had two bouts of surgery to remove suspect facial spots - a barely noticeable scar and a clean bill of health the results.

"It's cleared up, the stitches are out and it's the second time round for me so it's all good. It's all gone," Wilkshire told AAP.

"It wasn't the most serious kind. The surgeon's done a good job."

The Illawarra product goes into this World Cup a key contributor to the Socceroos' cause after being Guus Hiddink's bolter in 2006.

Hiddink not only promoted him into his first 11 for the entire campaign, he promoted him to Dutch clubs as a transfer target - saying his technical skills were being wasted in the English championship with Bristol City.

A move to Holland's FC Twente resulted, then a transfer to Russian powerhouse Dynamo Moscow. He has played Champions League football for both.

While his club stocks have risen markedly, some things never change.

Most of Wilkshire's work for the national team still gets done below the line.

His versatility and wholeheartedness are his hallmarks - slotting in throughout the World Cup campaign as a wide midfielder, holding midfielder, left-back and right-back - where he is likely to feature this time.

He has also regularly been the only first-choice Socceroo available for Asian Cup qualifiers, and now has racked up 40 internationals.

Wilkshire is confident the Socceroos' decision to base themselves in South Africa early and train at altitude can be an advantage to their World Cup campaign.

"It's been sensational since we arrived. We've done the travel and we've got time to get over it and prepare," Wilkshire said.

"We're here working at altitude which is a little bit different for us and hopefully it's going to play dividends.

"We're only a couple of weeks out from the first game and it's time for us to knuckle down and start to get that rhythm going before we play against Germany."

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