Owen boosts England and Newcastle

Striker Michael Owen has handed Newcastle and England a huge boost after coming safely through an hour of a club friendly on Monday.

The 27-year-old missed the opening day win at Bolton with a thigh problem but has declared himself fit to play a part in Saturday's game against Aston Villa.

He told the Newcastle website: "I feel fine, it was only a small injury."

His return is a relief for England coach Steve McClaren, who has seen Wayne Rooney ruled out for two months.

England have a friendly against Germany on 22 August followed by the crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel on 8 September and Russia four days later.

Owen missed most of last season as he recovered from major knee surgery and his bad luck appeared to be continuing when he was ruled out of the bulk of Newcastle's pre-season games.

But he said: "I was confident I'd be fine and it was good to get back out there.

"It had me out for a couple of weeks but I've trained for the last four or five days.

"It's a little frustrating to have missed some of the pre-season games but I've been able to do all the running work."

Shola Ameobi scored both goals to help the United second string to a 2-0 win over local side Blue Star in a match that also saw a first appearance in Newcastle colours for Brazilian defender Claudio Cacapa.

Midfielder Kieron Dyer, who recently saw a transfer to West Ham collapse at the 11th hour, also played.

Source: BBC Sport