Owen 'Gutted' At Missing Liverpool Match!

The injury is another massive setback for the player and manager Sam Allardyce, and is all the more disappointing because the game in Vienna meant nothing.

Owen has only managed five games for Newcastle since he returned from a groin operation and has not scored for club or country in his last seven outings.

Owen: "Walking off on Friday night a lot of thoughts raced through my mind.

"I couldn't dwell on how it would be received back at my club. Newcastle are very important to me and I fretted about having to miss some important games, including one against my old club Liverpool.

"As soon as I planted my left foot beside the ball to line up a shot in the Austria game I knew that I had torn a thigh muscle. The pain was instant and, even though I managed to get my shot away, I knew the game was over for me and so was all hope of playing against Croatia."