England sweating Owen injury

Southampton, England (Sports Network) - England national side boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has decided to put naming his squad for the team's final EURO 2004 qualifier, against Turkey on Saturday, on the backburner as the team sweats an injury to striker Michael Owen.


Expected to have announced the side Sunday, Eriksson instead delayed his called-ups until Tuesday.

Owen suffered a shin injury during Liverpool's Premiership defeat to Arsenal Saturday, and now Eriksson is awaiting a fitness assessment on the frontrunner.

The player said he hasn't thrown in the towel as he hopes to feature for England in the highly-anticipated qualifier in Istanbul. Eriksson said Owen's fitness is only 50-percent of what it needs to be ahead of the weekend.

This morning's MRI scan confirmed there is no damage to his ankle or knee but showed he has suffered a split in the lining between the fibula and tibia bones in his lower right leg, Liverpool said in a statement on the club's official web site. He is currently rated at 50-50 for this weekend's England match in Istanbul.

National team officials did add that Owen could undergo extensive treatment on his shin, and would join the squad for training Tuesday.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said after his club's 2-1 victory at Anfield that Owen needs to play against Turkey Saturday if England has any chance at all of winning.

Michael Owen is vital for England, especially away from home, because of the timing of his runs, Wenger said. He also has such a good partnership with Steven Gerrard on the long balls. Gerrard can find Owen from anywhere and it would be a big blow for England if Owen was not fit. I don't know who would play in place of him.

He makes a big difference away from home. If you're playing against a team that's always pushing on you, you have a chance with Owen in the side. You know that even for just once in the half, you have a chance of finding an opening.

Owen's Liverpool manager, Gerard Houllier, agreed.

If you look at the number of goals Michael has scored for England, he is vital for every game they play, whether home or away. He simply scores goals for England.

In 53 full caps for England, Owen has tallied an impressive 24 goals -- including 16 netters in 29 appearances under Eriksson's reign.

The England boss was, however, boosted by David Beckham's fitness level after featuring for 87 minutes for Real Madrid Sunday in a win over Espanyol.

There'll be no problem playing for my country, said Beckham after the match. There was no reaction to the injury, although it's true my foot does hurt a bit.

I'm fine, though, and I'm happy because we won the game.

It's now time to think about England. We'll be giving it everything against Turkey.

The Turks are also sweating several injuries, most notably to stalwart Hakan Sukur, who suffered a knee knock while in domestic action at the weekend.

I am angry and frustrated that this should happen now because I know how much this game means to the Turkish people. As captain I have a special responsibility but at the moment my chances are uncertain, Sukur said.

The 32-year-old has scored 37 goals in 82 caps for Turkish national side.

Hakan is very important -- we need him. We will leave the decision on his fitness until Saturday, Turkey's technical director, Can Cobanoglu, added.

England sits just one point clear of rival Turkey ahead of the final qualifier in the Group 7 table. The winner will be assured a place in the 2004 championships in Portugal next summer while the loser will have to endure a play-off process.



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England's Owen ruled out of EURO group finale