Owen is embarrassed at shortage of action

And, while the striker remains confident of being fit for this summer's World Cup in Germany, he admitted he feared his England dream was over when he was told he needed another operation on his foot.

Owen is currently working his way back to full fitness after breaking his metatarsal in an accidental collision with Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson on New Year's Eve.

The injury has restricted the 26-year-old to just ten appearances for the Magpies since his £17m move from Real Madrid, a tally that is the source of considerable embarrassment.

It is too late for Owen to save Newcastle's season - European qualification remains an unlikely scenario despite last weekend's 3-1 win over Spurs - but, for his own peace of mind, he is desperate to provide a belated return for his club's massive summer investment.

"I feel a bit embarrassed, to be honest, having only played ten games this season when they have paid £17m or £16m or whatever the fee was," said Owen, who is expected to return when Newcastle make the trip to Birmingham for their penultimate game of the campaign.

"For them to pay that money and me to only play ten games - obviously, it's no fault of my own, I couldn't pull out when there was a chance to score a goal and these things happen in football - means there is still something inside me feels a little bit guilty for walking into the treatment room every day instead of walking out on to the training pitch.

"Whether that's right or wrong, that's how I feel and I need to at least show my face one or two more times before the season finishes."

At least when Owen has featured for the Magpies, he has weighed in with more than his fair share of goals.

His ten games have brought seven, including a sensational hat-trick against West Ham that remains one of the highlights of an otherwise underwhelming campaign.

"God help me if I hadn't done that because, if I'd played ten games and only scored one or two goals, then I really would be feeling low," he said.

"That's the only thing that's made the season bearable - that when I've played, I've scored a few goals.

"That's made it slightly better, but I need to play more than ten games this season to feel as if I've given any return."

Further appearances looked to be out of the question last month when it was revealed that Owen had undergone a second bout of surgery on his injured foot.

But, rather than giving cause for concern, the former Liverpool frontman insists the insertion of a metal screw is an aid to his rehabilitation.

For a while, though, it didn't look that way.

"When the surgeon called me, there was a panic," said Owen. "He said, 'I think you should go in and have another operation', and I panicked.

"It had healed three-quarters of the way, but it was still giving me a little pain after I had this little setback and he couldn't guarantee whether that last little quarter was going to take four weeks or 12 weeks to heal.

"I needed to guarantee it wasn't going to be 12 weeks, and the only way that was going to happen was if I had a slightly bigger screw in so that the thread wouldn't be in the same place.

"There was nothing wrong with the initial operation, it was just that the final gap hadn't healed.

"That operation, unless I had any setbacks in the meantime, would guarantee a six-week maximum time out, so I decided to have another one."

Owen has subsequently stepped up his rehabilitation again and, while he is yet to return to full training, he remains confident of returning within the next four weeks.

"I'm confident as long as I don't have any more setbacks or muscular problems," he added. "A lot of people can have those when they come back from long-term injuries.

"As long as I don't have any of that, I'll be fit to play for Newcastle this season and England will look after itself.

"I'm not overly concerned about the World Cup and things like that - at the minute, my target is playing in the Premiership again."

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