MICHAEL Owen is growing increasingly resigned to the need for a hernia operation after undergoing a second scan on his injured groin yesterday, writes Scott Wilson.
The Newcastle striker was scheduled to have a private consultation yesterday evening and, while surgery is not yet inevitable, the chances of him recovering without an operation now appear slight.
Owen has failed to finish either of the Magpies' last two Premier League matches and has not been included in the squad for this evening's Carling Cup third-round tie with Arsenal.
Surgery would rule him out of Newcastle's league games with Manchester City and Everton, and severely jeopardise his involvement in England's European Championships qualifiers with Estonia and Russia.
Hernia operations generally require at least a fortnight of recuperation.
If Owen were to be booked in for an operation tomorrow, he would have 17 days to recover for England's home game with Estonia and 21 days to regain his fitness for the crucial trip to Moscow on October 17.
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