McClaren: Owen's our Henry

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Owen has not played for his country since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury during the World Cup group clash with Sweden in Germany last June.

McClaren said: "It is terrific to have Michael back in the England squad and we have missed him for the past year. Many times he has been our saviour over the years and we have missed that."

The lack of a proven goalscorer - Owen has netted 36 times in 80 internationals - has been a major reason for England struggling to qualify from their European Championship group for the 2008 finals.

But Owen will play in Friday night's B international against Albania at Turf Moor and, if he comes through unscathed, is certain to be named in Saturday's squad to face Brazil at Wembley on June 1 and the Euro qualifier in Estonia five days later.

McClaren added: "When Michael is not there, it does show you that you miss that type of player, the one who sticks the ball in the net and wins you football matches in tight games.

"I can think of many times when I have been on the bench and it has been very close and he has popped up with a vital goal and we have missed that. That is certainly one of our problems over the last year, not scoring enough goals.

"He had a bad injury and has come through it and has shown great character. He is back from his injury and he looks fit and he looks sharp."

But McClaren warned: "Let's not expect too much from him. Let's not put too much pressure on him. It was a bad injury. He needs games and training sessions and he is getting them at the moment.

"But I feel he can be as good as he ever was. We have missed him like Arsenal have missed Thierry Henry. Proven goalscorers are at a premium."