Eriksson hopes to unleash Owen, Scholes on Brazil

By John Curtis, Japan

SVEN-GORAN Eriksson is confident that England’s lethal weapon Michael Owen and key midfielder Paul Scholes will be fit to face Brazil in Friday’s World Cup quarter-final clash in Shizuoka.

Liverpool striker Owen has been an injury concern since suffering a groin injury after two minutes of Saturday’s 3-0 second phase win over Denmark in Niigata which led to him being eventually substituted at half-time.

Owen, who scored his first goal of the tournament against the Danes, even cancelled a lunchtime media conference and instead underwent intensive treatment yesterday with medical staff.

The signs are now more encouraging with Owen given the green light to undertake some running at the team’s Awaji Island headquarters toady with a view to resuming full training tomorrow.

Scholes received a foot injury in Niigata and was replaced after 50 minutes by Kieron Dyer but he is making encouraging progress and should also undertake Owen’s programme within the next 48 hours.

Eriksson is optimistic that he will have a clean bill of health in his 23-strong squad with Darius Vassell (back) and Owen Hargreaves (calf) set to become available.

The England coach said: ‘‘I think by Friday everybody will be fit. On Tuesday we had two or three who didn’t train but they only have small problems.

‘‘We are almost sure that Owen and Scholes will be fit for Friday. They will probably run tomorrow (Wednesday) and the next day they will do everything with the ball with the rest of us.’’

‘‘The biggest problem is Owen Hargreaves but hopefully he can practice on Wednesday. He is running today, it looks rather good.’’

Hargreaves, one of England’s best players in the build-up to the finals, has been side-lined since suffering the injury in an accidental collision with Owen against Argentina.

An on-fire Owen is a necessity to England if they are to have a realistic chance of toppling the Brazilians.

Eriksson’s right-hand man Tord Grip admitted: ‘‘We need Michael to be 100% but I think everyone needs to be 100% fit to play Brazil. Of course, he is important for us with his pace and goalscoring skills.’’

Owen had insisted after the game against Denmark that he would be ready to play against Brazil and was confident that his goal — his first in five internationals — would ‘‘open the floodgates’’.

But, just in case there is any unforeseen setback, Robbie Fowler has insisted that he is ready to step into the breach if recovered.

Fowler has recovered from a hip problem and was Owen’s replacement at half-time against the Danes.

The Leeds player would have the opportunity to renew his partnership with former Liverpool team-mate Emile Heskey if he gets the nod from Eriksson.

Fowler said: ‘‘I have to be aware that I might be needed at any time, Against Denmark, Michael was carrying a niggle and it was best to get him off and get him right for the other games coming up.

‘‘That was good for me. I knew that I had to be ready for any moment and that came on Saturday. I thought I did okay but, even though they were 3-0 down, Denmark still defended deeply and made life hard for us.’’

Fowler admitted: ‘‘This is the World Cup and you want to be playing against the greatest teams and it would be nice for me to play in the game on Friday.

‘‘There will be a massive worldwide audience watching it and just to get on at some stage if I don’t start will be magnificent — and maybe even to score the golden goal winner!’’

He added: ‘‘I am not saying it has been a frustrating situation for me because the team has been doing well and winning games.

‘‘But you do want to do your bit on the big stage. I have just been keeping fit in training and staying sharp for the moment when the manager wants me. Then it’s down to me to make sure I make the most of my chance.’’