Return of the old firm... but can Rooney and Owen really play together?

England's first-choice front pairing will play alongside each other for the first time since the 2-2 draw with Sweden at the 2006 World Cup. But two world-class talents have yet to forge a formidable bond.

Rooney has the ability to spot the killer pass and Owen has the killer instinct in front of goal. They should be feeding off each other — but too often they are left to fend for themselves.

As England chief Steve McClaren prepares for the crucial Euro 2008 qualifier in Russia next Wednesday, Rooney and Owen will be reunited for the first time in more than a year when they face Estonia at Wembley on Saturday afternoon.

Owen guarantees goals, no matter who plays alongside him, but his relationship with Rooney has yet to flourish. They are not strangers but their superstar status suggests neither is prepared to play second fiddle in the England set-up.

Rooney has not scored a competitive goal for England since their victory over Croatia at Euro 2004 and three years is a long time to wait for a player of his quality.

McClaren will always accommodate the Manchester United striker in this England team provided he remains fit.

But Owen thrives off the enthusiasm of a willing strike partner.

Class does not guarantee a winning combination and the statistics add credence to the theory.

They have started 17 times together as a partnership (Rooney has scored seven times and Owen has scored six), but the spectre of Emile Heskey puts a different slant on the situation.

There was a spring in Newcastle striker Owen's step when Heskey returned to the international set-up last month and he was rewarded with goals against Israel and Russia.

If Heskey had been fit for this weekend's qualifier against Estonia, it would have left McClaren with a problem. Instead, England's head coach has been presented with a fait accompli.

England will miss Heskey's physical approach, especially in Moscow next Wednesday, but the Wigan striker claims Owen and Rooney will relish the responsibility of leading the front line.

Heskey said: "Michael and Wayne can work together up front and they have done it before. They are international players who can play in the Champions League so they should be good together.

"I'm delighted to see Michael back after his hernia injury because the last thing he needed was another long lay-off.

"He did really well to get back from his cruciate injury, only to suffer the hernia problem. Hopefully, things will start going well for him because England need him at the moment. Strikers are dropping like flies."

Heskey faces another month or more on the sidelines because of his metatarsal fracture but Owen clearly benefits when he is on the pitch. In 14 starts together, Owen has scored 14 times and Heskey has scored three.

Although Heskey has never been prolific in front of goal, he appears to be a perfect foil for Owen in the same vein as Peter Beardsley and Gary Lineker.

Former England manager Bobby Robson stumbled across that partnership at the 1986 World Cup and although Beardsley was never prolific he possessed a telepathic understanding with Lineker.

Beardsley was Lineker's foil, but England have not been able to forge an understanding quite like it.

The closest came at Euro 96, when Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham spearheaded England's attack, but others have tried and failed.

Beardsley said: "Rooney should be the perfect foil in terms of creating chances,but he needs to be given the sort of freedom I was given when I was playing for England. Both Owen and Rooney are top-class finishers and it might be a case of working out which is the more crucial element of the partnership.

"Do you want two players trying to score all the goals or do you want one to create them? That was the beauty of my partnership with Gary.

"He loved scoring goals but I used to get as much satisfaction out of creating them as I did from scoring them.

"England have two top-class strikers — they just must work out how to use them together."

James Beattie, Darius Vassell, Jermain Defoe, Andrew Johnson, Darren Bent and Peter Crouch have all been given a chance in the past six years, but none have been able to convince.

Dean Ashton is the latest to put down a marker but he has been forced out of the England squad with another injury.

West Ham confirmed yesterday that Ashton, who has only just recovered from a broken ankle sustained while training with England, will be out for six weeks after scans confirmed knee ligament damage.