England facing striker crisis as Owen set for operation

---

LONDON, Sept 25 (AFP): England coach Steve McClaren was Tuesday facing up to the likelihood that he will have to do without Michael Owen for next month's crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia.
McClaren, who is already resigned to being without Wigan's Emile Heskey, was anxiously awaiting a diagnosis on Owen's stomach muscle injury as speculation mounted that he will require a hernia operation that would sideline him for a month.
Newcastle striker Owen has underlined his importance to England's cause by scoring four goals in the last three qualifiers and his revived partnership with Heskey helped England to beat Israel and Russia convincingly at Wembley earlier this month.
The impact of the Owen/Heskey partnership was so significant in those matches that McClaren had been widely expected to retain them as his forward combination despite the return to action of Wayne Rooney, who missed the Israel and Russia matches with a metatarsal fracture.
With Heskey ruled out following surgery on a broken bone in his foot, West Ham's Dean Ashton is being tipped for a call-up to the national squad following his recovery from the broken ankle which wrecked his chances of going to the 2006 World Cup and forced him to miss all of last season.