Owen: Ready for Estonia
Michael Owen insists he is not risking his health despite making a return to action just days after surgery on a groin injury.
The England striker, who will surely now be employed by his country in forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers, still has stitches following the operation.
They did not, though, stop him from coming off the bench to score a stoppage time winner as Newcastle beat Everton on Sunday.
When quizzed on whether he would be at risk should he figure for England against Estonia on Saturday, Owen moved to reassure Steve McClaren.
No doubts
“Not at all,” he told Sky Sports News.
“No doubt the manager from here will say that and maybe the fans will say that but if I had to look after myself, I wouldn’t have made myself available for today.
“The surgeon’s advice is what I’ll look at more than anything else and she said that I can push it as hard as I want – it’s stronger now than it was before the operation.”
Owen even went as far as to suggest that he believed he should have started the game on the pitch, rather than the bench.
The 27-year-old added: “To play a game eight days after surgery – I’ve still got the stitches in – I’ve put in a lot of hard work.
“I was disappointed not to start, I’ve been training fully since Thursday
“I’ve not missed much training and I felt ready to start but the manager obviously wanted to leave me out and bring me on from the bench.”
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Source: www.skysports.com
