Sam Allardyce has revealed his "bitter disappointment" at Michael Owen's inability to take part in most of the club's pre-season friendlies.After spending almost the whole of last season on the sidelines following a knee injury sustained at the World Cup, the England striker was able to take part in Newcastle United's final few league games and appeared set for a full pre-season. But a thigh injury picked up during shooting practice last month has dashed those hopes and the 27-year-old now looks certain to miss the opening weeks of the new Barclays Premier League season.
"When I arrived one of the biggest worries was not knowing about Michael's future, but since then the biggest frustration has been his niggling injuries," Allardyce, the Newcastle manager, said. "For him not to be able to play in pre-season is frustrating for him and bitterly disappointing for us.
"He desperately needed those games, but unfortunately this thigh injury has taken longer than we thought to get better. It must be terrible for him because he was really looking forward to getting involved with the lads again during the pre-season games.
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"He has done plenty of training when he has been recovering from the injury - it isn't training he is lacking, it is games and missing pre-season is a big blow for him and us."
Allardyce suffered more injury woe ahead of the new season after Shay Given, his goalkeeper, picked up a groin problem.
The 31-year-old limped out of the weekend's friendly clash with Sampdoria and has been sent for further assessment after being dogged by similar problems for much of last term.
"He has gone to see a specialist in London because we want to make sure just how much damage has been done," Allardyce said. "He has been for a scan and it doesn't look serious, it's just a slight strain. At the moment we only expect him to be out for a couple of weeks, but we won't take any risks."
Allardyce suffered more injury woe ahead of the new season after Shay Given, his goalkeeper, picked up a groin problem.
The 31-year-old limped out of the weekend's friendly clash with Sampdoria and has been sent for further assessment after being dogged by similar problems for much of last term.
"He has gone to see a specialist in London because we want to make sure just how much damage has been done," Allardyce said. "He has been for a scan and it doesn't look serious, it's just a slight strain. At the moment we only expect him to be out for a couple of weeks, but we won't take any risks."
Thank you " http://www.timesonline.co.uk/ " for detail.
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