Michael Owen open to England recall

Ferguson believes striker could do a job for Capello...

Manchester United striker Michael Owen has accepted he is not part of Fabio Capello's England plans but insists he will never turn his back on his country The former Liverpool striker quickly fell out of favour when Capello took over as national team boss in 2008, with injuries also undermining his chances of a recall. But 31-year-old Owen - who has 89 caps and 40 goals - still shows his class when opportunities arise and scored in United's midweek Carling Cup win at Leeds. And he admits he would seize his chance should Capello change his mind. Owen told The Observer: "I was in every squad for over a decade and all of a sudden it stopped one day. "I would never turn my back on it, but obviously there's a scar there that still hurts a bit. But I don't get upset now when I'm not in the squad, like I used to. "If I got a call-up I'd be there within five minutes. "Fabio Capello picked his first squad and I was on the bench. I thought: 'This might be a sign that he doesn't fancy me.' The next time I wasn't in the squad, and that's just been that." United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes Owen would bring something different to the national team in terms of natural goalscoring ability. Gift "If you need a goal out of nothing there's no one better in the game. England don't have anyone like that," said Ferguson in the Daily Star Sunday. "He's got it, there's no doubt about that. Let's be honest, Michael has that little gift that he can appear in the box from nowhere. "He hasn't got that blinding pace of a younger person but then you always lose pace. Michael hasn't got that natural balance which Ryan Giggs has got either. But his positional sense is brilliant. "So is his awareness around the box. He makes runs at the right time, getting across defenders at the right time. He turns really well, too. He's just got that gift." Owen has had limited opportunities to impress at United this season but came on to play alongside Dimitar Berbatov in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Stoke after Javier Hernandez limped off injured, with Wayne Rooney missing the match because of a hamstring problem. Ferguson added: "It's not easy keeping Michael happy in terms of games. But I'm very happy with him. "He's just the same as Berbatov, a bit unlucky at the moment because what do you do when you have got players like Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck? "Although I must say Owen is getting to the point when you say to yourself, 'I really need to think about him more.. curtesy..sky sports..