Michael Owen who has been fancying his chances to play for the national team after his move to Manchester United seems to be a worried man. Though his career might have been back on track after landing at Old Trafford since his departure from Newcastle United, but all is not well for the English hitman.
Michael Owen was seen limping out of the pitch when Manchester United defeated Wolfsburg in their Group B match of the Champions League. It has been revealed that his groin problems have surfaced again and therefore he was taken off to make way for Dimitar Berbatov after just 20 minutes. Though he is expected to be back on the pitch in 3 weeks time, but I feel this injury has ended his hopes for the World Cup.
Twenty-four hours can be a long time in politics, so the old saying goes. As he reflected on his misfortune, Owen must have thought the same is also true of football.
After speaking so forcefully about his World Cup dream and the hopes of playing for his country again, having done so with such success before, a racing man like Owen could hardly have hoped for a better pre-match double than a place in Sir Alex Ferguson's starting line-up and the sight of Fabio Capello in the stands. But alas, this night turned out to be a misery for Owen as he lasted 20 minutes.
The English coach Fabio Capello is known to be dubious about Owen's fitness record. Time and again he has deflected questions over England's fourth-highest goalscorer by demanding to know how often he has played. And his doubts were becoming reality as Owen failed to even play the entire 90 minutes, forget impressing.
I don't think that Owen would be even considered by Capello for the World Cup. But if Owen makes the plane to South Africa from here, he will have to be either very brilliant, or very lucky. What do you think?
