Michael Owen is ignoring speculation about his England future and is concentrating on regaining form and fitness for Newcastle. After being left out of the England squad to face Slovakia and Ukraine, despite injuries to many of Fabio Capello's first-choice strikers, Owen has made use of the international break to bolster his recovery from the ankle ligament damage that has ruled him out for six weeks.
"Michael has benefited from the two-week break, and it's been a real bonus for us that he's been able to work with us at the training ground," said Newcastle caretaker manager Chris Hughton, who is hoping Owen can make an impact against Chelsea. "What helps during the international break is that the group is a little bit smaller and you are able to concentrate a little bit more on each player.
"Michael is focused on getting on with the job in hand. He is just back from six weeks out through injury, and [he] will want to get back to his full fitness levels. He has been concentrating on doing the best he can because it's the tough end of the season now and it's all about what part he can play."
Owen suffered his injury in the 2-1 defeat at Manchester City on 28 January, and missed five crucial games as Newcastle slid down the table. He returned for the 1-1 draw at Hull on 14 March, but was clearly some way short of full match fitness, and Hughton used him only as a substitute in the 3-1 home defeat by Arsenal a week later. However, despite Owen's injury problems this season, he still remains the club's leading scorer with 10 goals, and Newcastle will hope he can remain out of the treatment room for the remaining eight games.
Three more players who may struggle, though, are midfielder Damien Duff and defenders Steven Taylor and Sebastien Bassong, who are all doubts for the Chelsea game at the weekend. Taylor and Bassong are suffering ankle and groin injuries respectively and Duff was sent back to Tyneside after a hamstring injury ruled him out of the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Italy. However, Hughton does not think he will be out of action for long.
"When the injury was assessed at the time, it was felt it could be anything from a seven to 10-day injury," said the caretaker manager. "But that is the good news because even if he doesn't make Chelsea, then it's not a long-term injury. But he has a chance of making the game and we will continue to assess him on a day-by-day basis."
