Michael Owen has joined his
Newcastle United team-mates in training for the first time since
suffering a serious knee injury.
The England striker picked up the problem during last summer's
World Cup finals in Germany and has been steadily building towards
a return.
Though The Magpies are determined not to rush Owen's comeback, he
could feature before the end of the season.
With many players away on international duty this week, Owen has
joined those who have remained behind in the warm-up in
training.
Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder confirmed the ex-Liverpool ace has
stepped up his recovery programme, although is sticking to a
cautious approach.
"Michael is now joining us in our football warm-up for the first
time since he was injured last June," Roeder told it's
website..
"He is now taking part in 30 minutes of football with us every
day.
"But after that, when the intensity of this increases, he goes off
to continue his work with our rehab coach John Green who, as he did
with Kieron Dyer, has done a fantastic job with Owen.
"I watched as Michael was striking the ball into an empty net
yesterday and, believe me, it was great to see."
