England's Owen ruled out of EURO group finale

England's Owen ruled out of EURO group finale

London, England (Sports Network) - After days of intense therapy, Michael Owen was ruled out of England's final EURO 2004 Group 7 qualifier against Turkey on Saturday with a shin injury.


England flew to Istanbul on Thursday without the star Liverpool striker. The injury is another big blow to coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who is already without Rio Ferdinand.

Owen sustained the knock in a Premiership contest last weekend against Arsenal. Eriksson included the player on his squad earlier in the week, but knew that the striker would at best, have a 50-50 chance at playing.

On Thursday, it became official that Owen would not be on England's attack on the weekend.

Michael Owen will not be travelling to Turkey with the team on Thursday, Football Association spokesman Adrian Bevington said.

Bevington added, After receiving treatment from our medical staff -- who have been in consultation with the medical team at Liverpool -- over the past three days, it was felt that, despite Michael making excellent progress, he would not be fit for Saturday's game.

Eriksson called up Aston Villa's Darius Vassell as cover for Owen. England's attack could also feature teenage wonder Wayne Rooney, James Beattie and Paul Scholes.

Eriksson did get some good news on Thursday when he learned that the dead leg suffered by captain David Beckham is not serious. Beckham is expected to be fit for the Turkey match.

On the Ferdinand front, the England players issued a statement late Wednesday night rejecting a boycott and claiming they are fully focused for the crucial Group 7 decider.

Earlier in the week, the England players entertained a boycott against Turkey as a protest to the FA's decision to ban Ferdinand after the player failed to attend a pre-arranged drug test.

The players statement said: We apologize to our manager, staff and fans for any concerns that may have arisen over the past few days. In our minds there has never been any question as to whether we would play in this game -- we will continue our preparation for Saturday's game.

All the England players are proud to wear the England shirt and would never let England, Sven-Goran Eriksson or our magnificent fans down, the statement added.

The squad however, took their shots at the FA for its decision.

The organization we represent has not only let down one of our teammates, but the whole of the England squad and its manager, the players said. We feel that they have failed us very badly.

The winner of the England-Turkey match will take Group 7 and automatically qualify for the European championships in Portugal next year.

FULL ENGLISH SQUAD:

James, Robinson, Walker, P. Neville, G. Neville, A. Cole, Bridge, Mills, Campbell, Terry, Upson, Beckham, Lampard, J. Cole, Hargreaves, Butt, Dyer, Gerrard, Scholes, Heskey, Beattie, Rooney, Vassell.

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