Manchester United Striker Michael Owen still hopeful of England recall
England’s forgotten man, Manchester United striker Michael Owen, is still hoping to be part of the England team, and has said that he would do all he can to once again wear the England colours once he recovers from his hamstring injury.
Michael Owen, who moved to Manchester United from Newcastle United at the start of the 2009-10 season, has not been in action since the Red Devils won the Carling Cup final 2-1 against Aston Villa in March. That, in fact, was the only trophy for the season for Manchester United.
Owen picked up a hamstring injury seconds after scoring the equaliser in the final, that pretty much ended any lingering hopes he may have had of making it to the World Cup in South Africa.
Owen was never the first choice for coach Fabio Capello, and his injury did not help his cause either. The England manager had already made it clear that Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey and Peter Crouch were his first choice strikers.
Many experts and pundits have already said that Michael Owen’s career for England is as good as over, but the 30 year old still believes he can make it back into the national team. He does have a more than impressive record for England, with 40 goals from 89 matches.
Owen said that there is no doubt that the injury kept him out of the World Cup, and said that the question of whether he would have made the cut or not is another story. Owen reiterated that he has no intentions of calling it a day in international football, and would do all that he can to get a few more international caps.
The former Liverpool striker said that he has been part of the England team in 3 World Cups and 2 European Championships, so he did feel out of place not being part of England team in the 2010 World Cup.
Owen added that it was frustrating for him not to be there, but the way England went out of the tournament was even more disappointing. Commenting on Lampard’s disallowed goal, Owen said that had that goal been accepted, the match would have definitely taken a whole different turn in the 2nd half. As England were 2-1 down and not at 2-2, so in search of a goal they went all out, which left them vulnerable at the back, and the Germans made full use of the counterattack opportunities.
Talking about his hamstring injury, Owen said that he is almost at the end of his recovery period, and should be fit in time for the new Premier League season for Manchester United (the season begins in August).
Owen, who also played for Real Madrid from 2004-2005, said that there were several muscle injuries in that same game, and the next game also saw numerous players suffering the same problems. So there is something seriously wrong with the Wembley pitch.
Owen went on to say that he had surgery on his hamstring to repair the torn muscle, and as of now he is still not trying to push it, and is only taking brisk walks but is kicking the ball well.
The front man said that even though he may have to sit out a couple of pre season games in America, he will definitely be fit when the season starts.
It remains to be seen whether Owen makes it in time for the start of the season or not, but the more important question remains: once he gets fit, how long will he last? Owen has long been prone to injury, especially since he left Liverpool for Real Madrid; most of his time at Newcastle was also spent recovering from different injuries.
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