Owen Angered By Club-versus-country Debate

Michael Owen today hit back at allegations he is more interested in playing for England than Newcastle. Owen has made a staggeringly quick return from a double-hernia operation carried out by German surgeon Ulrike Muschaweck, clearing him for Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia when many pundits, including England coach Steve McClaren, felt he would not be fit.

The situation has only fueled irritation among Newcastle fans about Owen's priorities, especially as Sam Allardyce has cautioned against him being too heavily involved in international combat over the next fortnight. Even Owen's team-mate Joey Barton has felt the need to express an opinion, professing his loyalty to Newcastle, although in his case, it is an easy claim to make as there is no imminent likelihood of him adding to his single cap.

Yet the whole debate has caught Owen completely off-guard. Visibly angry as he addressed the issue at England's Watford base this lunchtime, Owen declared that the facts do not back up the criticism. "If I was only interested in playing for England, I would not have bust a gut to get myself fit and be available for Newcastle's game with Everton last Sunday," he argued.

"I cannot fathom any of the debate that is going on. The injury is no longer. I flew to Munich on Thursday, had the operation on Friday and came back on the Saturday. I was walking on Sunday, jogging on Monday and did everything; sprints, blasting balls on Thursday. I trained with the team on Friday and Saturday and was available for Sunday.

"The specialist who carried out the operation in Munich has said exactly what happened and how long my recovery time would be. Yet, somewhere along the line, everyone seems to have gone the opposite way and started questioning the surgeon. I find it very strange that people question a specialist who has done thousands of operations before, who is saying you could be back in a matter of a few days. That is exactly what has happened."

Meanwhile, the Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry admits there have been times he feared his England career was over. As he gears up for what would be "the biggest match of my life" - if chosen in Moscow - Barry recalls a time when he was left out of the international scene by former coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Barry impressed in the qualifiers with Israel and Russia at Wembley, in place of the injured Frank Lampard. He is in strong contention to keep his place, initially against Estonia on Saturday but, more crucially, for the return meeting with the Russians in Moscow four days later. "It can be frustrating when you are not selected - so making three or four squads in a row is in itself a big change for me," he said. "There were times when I thought I was not going to get back in again. Three or four years have ticked by; you have not made a squad - and you start fearing the worst.

"Under Sven, I basically gave up hope. People have got their own ideas - and when your name is not mentioned for so long, you do give up hope. But I always felt I was playing well enough, that time was still on my side - and I kept just got my head down at Villa and kept going. I felt that if and when a new manager came in my chance would come again - and it eventually did. Now it is nice to be talked about in a positive light, and I want to get myself around as many England squads as I can and help this team qualify for Euro 2008."

Barry is keen neither he nor England get ahead of themselves. "All the focus is on Estonia and getting three points," he said. "But if I do play against Russia, it will be the biggest game of my career - given what will be at stake. The last two England games have probably been the biggest of my career. It was nice to be part of them and I am full of confidence now for what is ahead."