Even if passed fit, Del Piero is unlikely to dislodge either of coach Fabio Capello’s preferred strikers, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or David Trezeguet, from the starting line-up.. Alessandro Del Piero could face Arsenal in tomorrow night’s Champions’ League quarter final second leg, after the Juventus striker said a scan on his injured thigh was “satisfactory”. That makes it slightly better, but I need to play more than 10 games this season to feel as if I’ve given any return.”. “That’s the only thing that’s made the season bearable, that when I’ve played, I’ve scored a few goals. He admits being embarrassed by that – despite managing seven goals in those 10 games before disaster struck in a challenge with England team-mate Paul Robinson at Tottenham on New Year’s Eve.”God help me if I didn’t do that because if I’d played 10 games and only scored one or two goals, then I really would be feeling low,” he said. “As long as I don’t have any of that, then I’ll be fit to play for Newcastle this season, and England will look after itself.”Injuries have meant Owen has played just 10 games for Newcastle since completing his £17m move from Real Madrid in August. “I’m confident, as long as I don’t have anymore setbacks or any muscular problems, as a lot of people can have when they come back from long-term injuries,” he said.

There was nothing wrong with the initial operation, it was just the final gap hadn’t healed. That operation, unless I had any setbacks in the meantime, would guarantee a six-week maximum time-out, so I decided to have another one.”Owen is currently working his way back to full fitness, and although he is setting no comeback date, he is confident he will play again for his club this season before setting his sights on the World Cup finals. It had healed three-quarters but it was still giving me a little pain after I had this little setback, and he couldn’t guarantee whether that little last quarter would heal in four weeks or 12 weeks.”I needed to guarantee it wasn’t going to be 12 weeks, and the only way that was going to happen was if I had a slightly bigger screw in so that the thread wouldn’t be in the same place. “He said ‘I think you should go in and have another operation’, and I panicked then. But after being reassured that the setback was only a minor one, the 26-year-old Newcastle United player quickly agreed to undergo surgery to hasten his recovery ahead of this summer in Germany.
“When the surgeon called me, there was that panic,” Owen recalled.

Owen said he panicked when his surgeon informed him last month that the fracture had not fully healed. At stumps the visitors needed another 44 runs to win with four wickets left to fall.. The England striker Michael Owen has admitted that he feared his World Cup dream was over when he was told he needed another operation on his injured foot. Brett Lee arrived and fenced at several deliveries before the umpires decided that the light was not good enough. Shane Warne arrived determined to continue playing his shots By now Ntini was charging at the crease Warne parried at a fast ball and was held behind the wicket Events were unfolding at a electrifying pace. All this happened in just 10 minutes.Australia were still 60 runs shy of victory and Justin Langer was in the pavilion recovering from concussion. Adam Gilchrist lasted a single ball, tickling a snorter that a revived Ntini delivered from around the wicket.