Manchester United

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid forward was due to play for United in their Carling Cup clash against Wolves at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

However Owen was withdrawn from the match not long before kick-off as the defending champions beat Wolves 3-2.

The 30-year-old was disappointed to pick up yet another injury after struggling with muscle problems throughout his career.

He said: “I’ve trained for a week and had a setback with another muscle injury.

“I’ve got some damage in my hamstring and will be out for the next few weeks unfortunately,” he added.

Owen has only started one Premier League match for United this season after he took the field at the Stadium Light for the Red Devil’s 0-0 draw with Sunderland.

However the former England striker has looked good when he has had an opportunity by Sir Alex Ferguson scoring two goals in the Carling Cup and a goal at the Reebok Stadium after coming on as a substitute against Bolton in the Premier League.

Ferguson has been hoping that Owen and fellow front man Wayne Rooney could rekindle their partnership when the pair played together for the Three Lions.

However it has been rare that the two players have been in the same United (11/2 to win the FA Cup)  line-up and currently both players are on the sidelines.

Revelations about Rooney’s private life and more recently contract issues have meant it has been a difficult time for the former Everton player but Owen believes hype surrounding the player has not affected his team-mates at Old Trafford.

He said: “I don’t think (there was) any (affect), really.

“Everyone seems to be happy now. The club have got a world-class player signed for five years and obviously Wayne’s happy and the manager’s happy.

“Wayne is obviously ambitious and the club’s ambitious. He wouldn’t have signed if he had any doubts,” he added.

United will be hoping that Rooney will return to the form that saw him ranked as one of the best players in the world after scoring 34 goals in 44 appearances for the Old Trafford side last season.

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England

The 29-year-old Chelsea skipper appears to have suffered a recurrence of an old injury which required surgery to rectify back in 2006.

And, while it is not known how severe the injury is, Capello has sent Terry back to Stamford Bridge for treatment and the Blues will hope he will not face a lengthy absence from their bid to retain the Premier League title (Chelsea 8/13 Outright).

Terry’s absence means that Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who is making his comeback from the knee injury that ruled him out of the World Cup finals, is set to partner either Manchester City’s Joleon Lescott or Bolton’s Gary Cahill in the centre of defence for the game.

Cahill was drafted into Capello’s plans when Everton’s Phil Jagielka pulled out due to a hamstring problem, while Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing came into the reckoning when Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon withdrew with back trouble.

However, the Football Association has revealed that it will make do with the players currently available to them, despite Terry’s withdrawal.

Terry’s absence means he has only played one game for England since the World Cup – a friendly win against Hungary in August – after a hamstring injury ruled him out of the opening two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland.

Lescott performed well in the win against the Swiss in Basle and will no doubt pip Cahill for a start alongside Ferdinand on Tuesday.

The Three Lions go into the game aiming to continue their 100% start to their qualifying campaign against a Montenegro side which tops Group G (England 1/7 Group Winner) after winning their opening three matches.

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Fabio Capello

The Italian manager will name his squad for the games against Bulgaria and Switzerland on Sunday but is already facing a selection headache following the news about two of his first choice players.

Chelsea announced on Saturday evening that Lampard had a problem with a hernia and would need to undergo surgery on either Tuesday or Wednesday to correct it, ruling him out for the next two weeks.

The 32-year-old endured a difficult afternoon on Saturday, missing a penalty and being forced off midway through the second half of the Blues’ 2-0 win over Stoke.

After the game, manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Lampard would need surgery, stating they had already spoken with the national team to inform them of the situation.

Later in the day, the Blues also revealed that Terry would play no part in either match after picking up a hamstring problem, although a statement on the club’s website claimed he had been playing with it during pre-season.

A statement released on the club’s official website read: “John Terry has tonight (Saturday) been ruled out of England’s next two games due to injuries to his right hamstring and glute muscles.

“John has spoken personally to the England management team, and Chelsea and England medical staff have also been in touch. All are agreed that John’s injuries, that he has carried since pre-season, would benefit from a period of rest and rehabilitation.”

The news will no doubt annoy Capello, who was able to call up and play Terry during England’s friendly with Hungary despite his injury.

More bad news could be on its way to the Three Lions (6/1 not to qualify for Euro 2012) coach after Spurs boss Harry Redknapp revealed Peter Crouch may have broken his ribs during their defeat to Wigan.

Should Crouch have injured his ribs, he would more than likely join Tottenham team mate Jermain Defoe on the sidelines, with the former West Ham forward currently struggling with a groin problem.

Capello’s bad day was rounded off by Fulham manager Mark Hughes revealing that Bobby Zamora had picked up a thigh injury in the 2-2 draw at Blackpool and could miss out.

“Bobby went really stiff at half-time. He thought it was just a bang on the muscle and went out again. But he could not shake it off,” said Hughes.

“I think he must be a doubt (for England) unfortunately. He was really looking forward to getting a chance.”

The Welsh (16/1 to qualify for Euro 2012) manager went on to say that goalkeeper David Stockdale may also be unavailable for an international call-up, with Capello rumoured to be interested in bringing him into the national fold.

Capello will name his squad on Sunday hoping that no more of his star names are forced to withdraw before Friday’s first match against Bulgaria.

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Earlier this week it was revealed that keeper Petr Cech would miss the first few games of the season.  The Czech Republic international injured his leg in a training session and is expected to be out of action for around a month, with Chelsea’s trip to Wigan on August 21 a possible return date for the gifted shot-stopper.

Cech’s injury means Ancelotti will have to decide which of his stand-in keepers, Henrique Hilario and Ross Turnbull, will stand in for the crocked star for Chelsea’s Community Shield showdown with Manchester United as well as their first few league fixtures (Chelsea 13/10, draw 11/5, Man United 2/1 – 90 minutes).

Brazilian defender Alex has also  been ruled out for a month after picking up a thigh injury in training, and with fellow centre-half Ricardo Carvalho tipped to depart Stamford Bridge before the start of the new campaign, Ancelotti could be left short of defensive cover.

New-signing Yossi Benayoun is also struggling with a groin problem and remains a doubt ahead of the Community Shield, although Ancelotti remains hopeful that the Israeli midfielder will recover in time to face United.

To compound Ancelotti’s woes, key-man Didier Drogba has now been ruled out for around three weeks after undergoing “minimal invasive surgery” to resolve a groin problem.

The striker was dogged by the problem last season and at this summer’s World Cup with the Ivory Coast, and Chelsea have now confirmed that he has gone under the knife to correct the issue.

A Chelsea statement read: “Didier Drogba successfully underwent minimally invasive surgery yesterday (Friday) on the groin injury that had troubled him for some of last season.

“The decision to perform the procedure after his return from the World Cup was made to optimise his rehabilitation, and he is expected to return to full training in approximately three weeks.”

Drogba will certainly miss the Community Shield on August 8, while he remains a doubt for Chelsea’s opening fixture against West Brom but the powerful forward should return before the end of August.

Chelsea are currently the favourites to secure the Premier League title but without Cech, Drogba and Alex, the first few games of the campaign could be tricky for the Stamford Bridge side.

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The 26-year-old hitman has had a dreadful run of luck with injuries over the past 12 months, with his domestic season at Anfield constantly interrupted by problems.

Torres struggled to make the Spain squad for the World Cup because of injuries to his right knee but managed to feature in all of his country’s matches.

However, the former Atletico Madrid forward didn’t look fit and constantly seemed off the pace as he struggled to get into the games.

He was eventually dropped from Vicente del Bosque’s starting XI, with Barcelona’s Pedro taking his place in the semi-final and final.

Torres did come off the bench in both matches against Germany and Holland but failed to make a telling impact.

His showing against the Dutch in Sunday’s final was cut short when he pulled up with the thigh problem just minutes before the end of the game.

Torres’ injury didn’t hinder the Spanish who went on to claim their first ever World Cup thanks to Andres Iniesta’s goal.

The Liverpool striker has since returned to Spain and undergone a scan which has revealed a problem with his left thigh.

A statement on the SFF’s website confirmed Torres had a magnetic resonance scan at the Cemtro de Madrid Clinic and evidence was found of “a Grade 1 muscle fibre rupture in the left thigh”.

While a grade one tear is the least serious type of rupture it still means Torres (11/2 Premier League top scorer) has little chance of recovering in time for the start of the new season.

While the injury isn’t the news new manager Roy Hodgson had wanted to hear it could mean that clubs who were thinking about making a bid for the striker may be put off from doing so.

The likes of Chelsea and Manchester City have been linked with Torres, who is thought to have become disillusioned with life.

However, after Spain’s victory on Sunday Torres was seen celebrating while wearing a Liverpool scarf, a picture which has given everyone hope he will stay on Merseyside according to Hodgson.

“As Liverpool manager, I take great pride in the fact that two of our players can call themselves World Cup winners this summer,” said Hodgson.

“I think it’s safe to say the pictures of Fernando in the dressing room with the World Cup certainly went down well with our fans, but the club can be proud of all the players who went away to the World Cup.”

Torres’ injury means Liverpool look certain to kick off the campaign against Arsenal (7/4 – 90 minutes) without their star name as they look to improve to stay connected to the rest of the big four.

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The Italian, who signed for £20million from Roma last year, had to wait more than two months to make his debut after suffering an ankle problem.

The injury was not completely healed throughout the season, leaving him out of sorts.

But the 25-year-old is able to start pre-season training, says the club’s head of sports medicine and sports science Peter Brukner.

Brukner told LFC Weekly magazine: “Alberto’s ankle, which was a problem last year, is now 100% healed.

“He has been training and has looked very sharp. He’ll have to keep working on his injury prevention programme and if he does, I’m sure the supporters will see the best of him because last season was very frustrating for him injury-wise.”

Brukner is pleased with the fitness levels of the players ahead of the start of training.

“Staggering pre-season presents a challenge,” he said. “I’m guessing that the World Cup guys will be pretty fit anyway.

“You don’t lose a lot in three weeks and they’ve all been in contact with us to speak about their programme over that period.”

Brukner’s next task is to assess the fitness of star striker Fernando Torres, who pulled up with an adductor injury in Sunday’s World Cup final in South Africa.

Torres has now returned to Madrid with the rest of the victorious Spain squad and Liverpool (5/1 to win Premier League betting without Man Utd and Chelsea) staff are to fly out to meet him this week.

The 26-year-old is due to have a scan before beginning his summer break.

Reports on Monday suggested he faced a spell of up to eight weeks on the sidelines, but Liverpool have moved to allay those fears.

Brukner, told the club’s official website: “We’ve been in touch with the Spanish medical team and they don’t think it’s too serious.

“It’s an adductor muscle injury but they’ve not had a chance to assess it today.

“We can’t say too much more at the moment until it is properly assessed.”

The striker flopped at the World Cup, failing to score, but his services are very much in demand and new Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson faces a difficult job in trying to keep him at the club.

The 26-year-old has been strongly linked with both Chelsea and Manchester City, and while international colleague Andres Iniesta would not shed any light on where the player might be going he did say the issue should be settled soon.

Iniesta, Spain’s World Cup final hero, spoke to Torres on the flight home from South Africa and told the Daily Express: “He is going to take a break with his wife and daughter, speak to Liverpool and take things from there.

“Any club that has him is lucky to have him. David Villa says Torres is the most complete striker in the world and his future will be decided in the next two weeks.”

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Germany

The Germans defeated Ghana 1-0 on Wednesday night on their way to winning Group D but the victory came at a cost, with a number of key players picking up knocks.

Schweinsteiger appeared to be the biggest doubt after picking up what was initially thought to be a thigh problem. Germany have now confirmed that the influential midfielder is struggling with a hamstring strain but still expect him to be fit for the massive game against Fabio Capello’s men.

Schweinsteiger is 14/1 to grab the first goal if he is passed fit and assistant coach Hans-Dieter Flick is confident he will make it along with Boateng and Ozil, who have calf and ankle injuries respectively.

“Jerome has a bit of a calf strain and Schweini (Schweinsteiger) has a hamstring problem and for both I have to admit it might be a bit critical for them to be in the starting line-up on Sunday, but we are optimistic,” Flick revealed.

“Ozil seems to have twisted his ankle but he is not in pain and I think we will get him fit for Sunday’s game.”

Bayer Leverkusen youngster Toni Kroos is on standby to step in should Schweinsteiger miss out but Flick does not sound too concerned.

“He certainly is an alternative, but as far as Bastian Schweinsteiger is concerned I think we can have reasons to be optimistic,” he added.

“I’ve spoken to the team doctor and he says the recovery time is comparatively short. We just hope he’s in the starting line-up and fit to play because he’s become a key player.”

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England

Ferdinand, who has been replaced by Steven Gerrard as England skipper, is to return to England after the team’s opening Group C encounter with USA on Saturday (4/9 England 16/5 draw 13/2 USA – match betting).

The incident which ended his World Cup dreams happened at England’s Bafokeng Sports Centre base, during a challenge with striker Emile Heskey.

“It was a complete freak, an accident,” said Ferdinand.

“The ball came in from one of the lads to Emile, I’d gone to try and tackle him from behind – he didn’t actually see me coming – we both went off balance and Emile’s weight went down on my knee.

“It’s no fault of his at all. It’s just a freak accident that could happen at any given time and it had no connection to any previous injuries I’ve had.”

The central defender said he knew even before the scan that he would be forced to miss the tournament.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to play in the World Cup even before I got the scan (result) – I was just waiting to get it confirmed,” he told BBC Radio Five Live.

“It’s disappointing, but I’ve come to terms with it now.

“The first night was quite a pretty long night, going over what could’ve been and to not be able to represent your country in the World Cup.

“I was going over scenarios in my head of what could’ve been.

“Leading out your country into a major tournament is the stuff of dreams and it’s taken from under your feet.

“It was a long evening thinking about stuff like that.

“But after that I’ve thought to myself I’ve got to get on with it. There’s a lot more people worse off than I am.

“I’m not dying and it’s not like I’ll never be able to play football again.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to come back, do some good rehab and I’ll be fit and that’s what I’m concentrating on now.”

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Spain

The Barcelona playmaker has struggled with injuries for the majority of 2010, missing a large part of the Catalan giants run-in with a thigh injury

Spain (21/10 top European team) coach Vincent del Bosque claims Iniesta came off as a precautionary measure after feeling a slight twinge in his thigh.

The 26-year-old will have a scan on Wednesday to determine the extent of the problem with Del Bosque likely to be crossing his fingers it isn’t serious after Iniesta set up two of Spain’s six goals before he was forced off.

Iniesta is just the latest injury concern the Euro 2008 champions have had coming into the World Cup, with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Fernando Torres and Xavi all carrying problems heading into their series of warm-up games.

However, La Furia fans will have been delighted to see Torres and Fabregas get on the score sheet during a vintage performance by the World Cup favourites.

David Villa (8/1f top goalscorer) got the opening goal in the rout after being played through by Iniesta before the Barcelona man set up David Silva for a second shortly afterwards.

Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso got Spain’s third with Fabregas and Torres getting the fourth and fifth respectively, Barcelona winger Pedro getting the sixth as the nation recorded their 11th straight victory.

Iniesta’s injury aside it was the perfect way for Spain to round off their build-up to the World Cup, especially given Torres’ comments after the game where he claimed he was now over his spat of injuries.

“The injury has passed and now I’m able to help my team-mates, so it’s time to enjoy it,” said Torres.

“Tomorrow (Wednesday) I’m sure there will be a lot of optimism and euphoria but we know it will be difficult.”

The Liverpool forward was making his first appearance since undergoing knee surgery in April and it will be vital he stays fit if Del Bosque’s men are to challenge for the World Cup.

Fabregas’ return could also prove timely should Iniesta’s injury be serious, the Arsenal man having not played since he cracked a bone in his leg during the Gunners’ 2-2 with Barcelona in March.

Spain depart for South Africa on Thursday hoping for an easy ride through the group stages having been drawn alongside Switzerland, Honduras and Chile in Group H.

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Ivory Coast

The striker was helped off the pitch having collided with Marcus Tulio Tanaka and according to Manchester City defender Kolo Toure the player’s “World Cup is finished.”

It was originally believed that the player had fractured his right elbow but later reports showed that their was a break in the right arm.

Drogba had scored the Ivoirian’s first goal in the match after his free-kick was deflected past the keeper before he went in for a challenge with Tanaka.

After the match former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson was very concerned with his star player’s condition he said: “It’s an elbow injury. How bad it is, I don’t know. He had a lot of pain.

“Of course I’m worried. He’s captain and one of the world’s best players,” he added.

Although Eriksson was devastated by the news of the injury, he did not believe that it was a bad challenge by the Japanese player.

He said: “It was unlucky. It wasn’t bad or stupid. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. Football is a game of contact,” added Eriksson.

Drogba is a key player for the African side who have been seen as the strongest team from the continent ahead of the tournament.

The 32-year-old has been a major player for the national side and for his club Chelsea.

The Blues won the Premier League title from rivals Manchester United and were victorious in the final of the FA Cup against Portsmouth.

This was the first domestic double in the club’s 105 year history, a season in which Drogba scored 29 Premier League goals, winning the golden boot award.

Ivory Coast are in Group G also known as the ‘group of death’ as they face Portugal (Ivory Coast 9/4, draw, 23/10, Portugal 11/10 in the match betting), North Korea and Brazil.

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