England manager Steve McClaren has described tonight's friendly with Germany at Wembley as ''pure preparation'' for the forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifying fixtures.

McClaren will be unable to call on Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves, Sol Campbell and Darren Bent for the clash with England's old rivals after his 28 man strong squad was depleted by injuries on Monday.

The England coach already had a couple of selection headaches to overcome ahead of the crunch Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia next month, which striker Wayne Rooney will miss because of his fractured left foot while Peter Crouch must serve a one-match ban.

And McClaren said in a press conference yesterday: ''It's an important game also in terms of preparation, we have the qualifiers in three weeks which are really big games we need to win.

''This is pure preparation but we're taking it seriously. We're looking forward to the game.

''It has been normal preparation for an England friendly.

''The players had three Premier League games last week, this will be their fourth in 10 days. You get knocks and niggles and we got that. We had to liaise with the clubs and medical staff.

''It's not been ideal but ask any international manager, no preparation is ideal. I know the Germans have got injuries.''

mfl McClaren admitted the result is secondary tomorrow.

''We've got a big game tomorrow night and we've got to make sure we get a performance,'' he said.

''We had a training session today and looked very sharp.

''People talk about injuries but whoever plays tomorrow will have a great opportunity to play at Wembley, against Germany, in front of a full house. Everyone knows it is a special occasion and that's what we want to make it.''

McClaren also welcomed the return of Newcastle striker Michael Owen to the international fold.

Owen could start the match after it emerged striker Andrew Johnson is struggling with fluid on his knee and is likely to miss out.

''It is an ideal game for Michael Owen to get some minutes under his belt. He hasn't played in pre-season or had a game yet, so it's an opportunity to give him minutes.

''He is a very important player for us and one that we are looking forward to getting back into the squad,'' McClaren said.

mfl The England manager rejected suggestions the game might be a waste of time with so many players missing through injury.

He added: ''Many people have said about the game 'is it worth it?' Of course it is. I'm getting the squad together, the two days we have had together have been very productive. We're getting England back on the agenda which is the most important thing.''

And McClaren revealed he and his staff had been quick to encourage the squad to repeat their performances the last time the they met up.

''There has been quite a gap from (the games against) Brazil and Estonia,'' he said.

''We have reminded the players just how good their performances were. They set the standard and we have to maintain that standard no matter who plays for England.''

Stuart Pearce's reign as the full-time England Under-21 coach started with a 1-1 draw after Romania grabbed a fortunate equaliser in the friendly at Ashton Gate.

Pearce's new set of youngsters started brightly and were leading through Matt Derbyshire's early strike before the visitors dragged themselves back in the game.

Bogdan Stancu's free-kick crashed off the bar and went in off goalkeeper Joe Hart to level matters at Bristol City's ground, and despite ending the game with 10 men Romania clung to a draw.

Pearce was technically still part-time coach when he led his youngsters to the semi-finals of the European Championships earlier in the summer, although by then he had been sacked at Manchester City.

This was his first game as full-time coach and he had lost more than half of his squad, meaning Under-21 debuts for the likes of Craig Gardner, Martin Cranie, Middlesbrough's David Wheater, and Michael Johnson