I feel sharp, says Owen
Michael Owen pronounced himself ready for England’s forthcoming games with Brazil and Estonia after an impressive international comeback for the B side against Albania at Turf Moor.
The Newcastle striker tasted action for his country for the first time since suffering a severe knee injury against Sweden in a World Cup group match 11 months ago.
Owen squandered one early opportunity but was happy with his general performance in the 3-1 win, and laid on the final goal for Stewart Downing – his second of the game after replacing the twisted knee injury victim Aaron Lennon.
McClaren is desperate for Owen to get back to his best especially with Wayne Rooney (suspended) and Andy Johnson (injured) ruled out of the Estonia game.
Owen said: “I am happy to have played the 90 minutes. It will hopefully make me sharper and sharper.
“I’ve been out of action for nearly a year and this was only my fourth game since coming back, so I am never going to be at my total best, but I feel my touch is decent.
“I feel sharp and, if given the chance, I feel confident when in front of goal. I had one good opportunity in the first half and just put it wide but I feel happy with the night’s work.
“I feel ready for the two games coming up. I’ve played three games for Newcastle and one here tonight. I’m fit physically. I don’t think anyone can say ’you don’t look fit physically.”
Owen added: “My knee feels great and my body feels great and it is just a matter of playing and getting sharper and sharper.
“How long will it take to get that sharpness back? Who knows? If I get the balls whizzed in the box and score a couple of goals, everyone will say: ’He looks back to his best’. In reality, it might take 10 games or I might be there now and am just bubbling under, waiting for a few chances and a lot of the ball in my area.”
Owen was full of praise for England’s overall performance which saw Alan Smith net the opener to stake his claim for a place in the full side.
He added: “I thought the team performance was decent. Albania played particularly well in the first half but we knew that they are a decent team.
“The full side played them a few years ago and they were quite tough then, home and away. For the B team to beat them 3-1 was quite good.
“I thought we were quite comfortable. They probably wasted a lot of their energy in the first half and we dominated in the second half.
“If we had wanted to go and score more goals it might have been possible but this game came at the end of a long season for some players.”
