Beleaguered Newcastle United have been dealt a major blow with a groin injury ruling star forward Michael Owen out of their weekend clash against Mark Hughes’ Manchester City.
Joe Kinnear’s side are currently third from bottom in the Premiership table, and have picked up just one point from their last five games. Their misery is compounded by the fact that Owen is their top scorer in the league this season, with three out of their seven coming from him.
Newcastle will be hoping to avoid a third successive home defeat at St.James Park this weekend. In the corresponding fixture last season, they lost 0-2 to Manchester City with Elano and Gelson Fernandes scoring.
Owen is however expected to be fit for the next league game against Sunderland.