England's lion - Owen's back and ready to defy his club - Sport

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His anxious club have asked England to treat Owen with care following his appearance as a substitute eight days after groin surgery.

But asked if he would take it easy on international duty, Owen said: "Not at all. No doubt the manager from this club will say that and maybe the fans will say that but if I had to look after myself, I wouldn't have made myself available for today."

In the mood: Owen has rediscovered his scoring touch

Owen was unhappy at not being picked to start for Newcastle and added: "The surgeon's advice is what I'll look at more than anything else and she said that I can push it as hard as I want - it's stronger now than it was before the operation."

That's good news for England, who face Estonia at Wembley on Saturday and Russia in Moscow four days later.

With Everton striker Andrew Johnson's ankle injury forcing him to join Dean Ashton in withdrawing from the squad yesterday, the options available to coach Steve McClaren are limited.

Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce, who saw Owen score in the 90th minute of a 3-2 victory over Everton, said: "In my opinion, he wasn't ready.

"In his, he was. My senses tell me I need to protect him and he needs that from England now."