Newcastle, England: England striker Michael Owen says he expects to be fit for the World Cup ahead of his first match since breaking his foot last December.
Owen is expected to be a substitute for Newcastle in its English Premier League match against Birmingham on Saturday with the World Cup in Germany starting June 9.
"The World Cup is six weeks away so I have no doubts I will be fit," Owen said on Friday. "We keep ourselves fit, even when we are injured, and in terms of fitness and everything else I have plenty of time to sharpen myself up.
"I would be disappointed to take six weeks to sharpen up. It should be more like six days."
Owen said he was looking forward to playing again after being out since December 31.
"It has been a long four and a half months, so far, since I last played, so I'm very keen to get back into the thick of the action," Owen said. "I have trained for quite a while now and it is nice to have been out with the players on the pitch training all week. Now I'm looking forward to getting on to a proper pitch."
Newcastle caretaker-manager Glenn Roeder said Owen had impressed during training.
"Michael has trained absolutely brilliantly this week," Roeder said.
"I've stood there watching him and it just reminds you of the difference between top Premiership players and world-class players."
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