As England preparefortheircrucial Euro 2008 qualifying match on a plastic pitch in Russia a week tomorrow, Michael Owen admitted that playing on hard surfaces has contributed to his recent injury problems.
'ihe England striker returned to action for Newcastle United at the weekend, scoring in the 3-2 win over Everton, having undergone the second of two groin operations just eight days earlier. And with the national team needing maximum points from their double-header -they face Estonia at Wembley on Saturday before heading to Russia -Owen conceded: "My injury was wear-and-tear - you go outon hard pitches every day and it takes its toll. But it's much stronger than when I went in for surgery. Even when it feels a bit tight you just plough through it."
Owen is convinced he will be able to handle two international matches in five days, despite the concerns of his club manager, Sam Allardyce, who believes it may prove too much for his 17 million poundstriker. /
"I will listen to my surgeon [Ulrike Muschaweck] and not anyone else because she knows what she is talking about," insisted Owen. "It's feeling good and I'm available for both teams I represent. I don't see why I can't play against Estonia. The surgeon tells me you can't go wrong in terms of the operation."
Muschaweck - a pioneering surgeon who specialises in facilitating exceptionally swift recoveries from a procedure Which can sideline players for six weeks - has performed hernia repairs on a host of leading footballers at her clinic in Munich, but none is known to have returned to action as quickly • as Owen. "Hopefully eight days is a record," said the Newcastle striker. "I've talked to Alan Shearer and he got back in 12 days from his operation (a hernia correction performed by Muschaweck].
"It’s open surgery but you can get back quickly as long as you can manage the pain," added Owen, who played against Everton with
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his post-operation stitches still in but says he is now pain-free.
He also admitted to disagreeing with Allardyce over his readiness to start the game on Sunday, when he played just the last 16 minutes as substitute having hoped to start. "I don't see why there was any risk in me playing Everton,” Owen said. "I want to get back and play for Newcastle and it shows a lot of determination on my part to want to get backout there."
Sunday, though, was not the only day when Allardyce has seen things differently from his star striker. While Newcastle's manager maintains Owen's latest injuries appeared while he was on England duty against Israel and Russia last month, the player begs to differ.
"I know the manager says I did it in the last internationals but I was playing in pain before then,” Owen stressed. "I have been pushing myself through a lot of pain for about six weeks ■ even before the last two internationals. I didn't have any option but to have the operations. When I played Derby a couple of weeks ago I felt it badly and then in the following game (against West Ham| I realised I didn't have any option but to get it done.”