Newcastle United Football Club News

• Nickname:Magpies
• Founded:1881
• Manager:Alan Pardew

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Owen ahead of schedule

29 Nov 2007 - 07:12:58

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Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce is confident that Michael Owen will be ready to return to first-team action before Christmas.

It was originally feared when Owen tore a thigh muscle during England's friendly win in Austria less than two weeks ago that the 27-year-old would be sidelined until the new year.

However, Allardyce told United's official website: "We feel we've speeded up the process and it's going to be a little quicker than we first thought, so that's really good news.

"We'll only bring him back when he's 100 per cent and will not rush him. But we think it's going to be a lot less than six weeks."

Allardyce also believes Abdoulaye Faye and Steven Taylor could be available to face Blackburn Rovers this weekend after recovering from injuries.

Faye has been sidelined for a month with a hamstring injury, while Taylor missed the home defeat to Aston Villa with a back problem.

"I hope to have some players back from injury at Blackburn - Abdoulaye Faye and Steven Taylor from a defensive point of view," Allardyce added.

"We'll see how he goes this week, but we're hoping we may get Abdoulaye back for the weekend. He's a big player for us in defence. He's a powerful in the air and has the presence we need.

"There are still players, like Mark Viduka and Joey Barton, who've not had a lot of games to pick up their sharpness. We have to keep working at that."